GIFT  or 
A.    P.   Morrison 


SHugtratefc  (g&ttion 

THE 

AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 
By  JOHN   FISKE 

IN  TWO  VOLUMES 
VOLUME    I 


9 


THE 

AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

BY  JOHN    FISKE 

ILLUSTRATED   WITH 

PORTRAITS    MAPS   FACSIMILES 

CONTEMPORARY  VIEWS   PRINTS  AND 

OTHER  HISTORIC   MATERIALS 

IN  TWO  VOLUMES 

VOLUME  I 


Washington,  fighting  for  one  King  George,  did 
well ;  Washington,  fighting  against  another  King 
George,  did  better.  —  Freeman,  Lecture  in 
the   University  of  Oxford,  February  22,  1886 


\\8k  J^llAliniliMi   J 


BOSTON   AND   NEW   YORK 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN   &   COMPANY 

<£&e  fttoersi&e  &vts$,  Camfcri&oe 

MDCCCXCVI 


Copyright,  1 891, 
By  JOHN    FISKE. 

Copyright,  1896, 
By  HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  &   CO. 


All  rights  reserved. 


•  •  • 

•  •  • 

•  •• 


The  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 
Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  H.  O.  Houghton  and  Company. 


> 


TO 

MRS.  MARY  HEMENWAY 

IN    RECOGNITION    OF    THE    RARE    FORESIGHT   AND    PUBLIC    SPIRIT 

WHICH    SAVED    FROM    DESTRUCTION    ONE    OF    THE    NOBLEST 

HISTORIC    BUILDINGS    IN    AMERICA,    AND    MADE    IT   A 

CENTRE    FOR   THE    TEACHING    OF    AMERICAN 

HISTORY   AND    THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

GOOD   CITIZENSHIP 

/  DEDICATE    THIS  BOOK 
0> 


M113927 


PREFACE 


In  view  of  the  remarkable  favour  with  which  this  histori- 
cal sketch  of  the  American  Revolution  has  been  received 
by  the  public,  it  has  seemed  worth  while  to  issue  a  new 
edition,  enriched  with  illustrations  of  the  sort  that  possess 
real  historical  value.  Such  are  maps  and  diagrams,  authen- 
tic portraits,  facsimiles  of  documents  and  autograph  signa- 
tures, caricatures  and  satirical  prints,  contemporary  views  of 
localities  and  buildings,  reproductions  of  historical  paintings, 
photographs  of  seals,  medals,  monuments,  antique  furniture, 
arms  and  weapons,  etc.  Nothing  has  been  admitted  into 
the  book  for  the  mere  purpose  of  embellishment. 

The  work  of  gathering  these  illustrations,  many  of  which 
are  here  made  public  for  the  first  time,  has  been  very  pleas- 
ant, though  not  unattended  with  difficulties.  It  has  all  been 
done  under  my  personal  direction  and  supervision,  with  the 
most  zealous  and  efficient  cooperation  of  my  friend,  Mr.  W. 
S.  Scudder,  of  the  Riverside  Press,  to  whom  my  cordial 
thanks  are  due.  For  help  of  various  sorts  from  public 
libraries  and  learned  societies  I  have  especially  to  thank 
Messrs.  A.  R.  Spofford,  Library  of  Congress  ;  S.  A.  Green, 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society ;  W.  E.  Foster,  Public 
Library,  Providence,  R.  I.  ;  J.  A.  DeBoer,  Vermont  His- 
torical Society;  W.  De  Loss  Love,  Connecticut  Histori- 
cal Society ;  D.  V.  R.  Johnston,  State  Library  of  New  York  ; 


vi  PREFACE 

W.  Eames,  Lenox  Library ;  F.  D.  Stone,  Pennsylvania  His- 
torical Society ;  H.  E.  Hayden,  Wyoming  Historical  and 
Geological  Society  ;  R.  G.  Thwaites,  Wisconsin  Historical 
Society ;  W.  W.  Scott,  State  Library  of  Virginia ;  P.  A. 
Bruce,  Virginia  Historical  Society ;  F.  W.  Page,  Library  of 
the  University  of  Virginia ;  T.  J.  Kiernan,  Library  of  Har- 
vard University ;  H.  M.  Brooks,  Essex  Institute,  Salem ; 
Miss  Florence  E.  Whitcher,  Cary  Library,  Lexington.  For 
some  valuable  contributions  I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness 
of  Hon.  Mellen  Chamberlain,  of  Boston,  whose  collection 
of  MSS.  and  prints  is  of  great  interest.  For  information 
on  various  points  I  must  thank  Gen.  James  Grant  Wilson, 
of  New  York ;  Col.  William  Leete  Stone,  of  Mount  Vernon, 
N.  Y.  ;  and  Gen.  John  Watts  De  Peyster,  of  Tivoli,  N.  Y.  As 
for  the  "  Memorial  History  of  Boston  "  and  the  "  Narrative 
and  Critical  History  of  America,"  both  edited  by  my  friend 
and  former  colleague,  Dr.  Justin  Winsor,  the  extent  and 
nature  of  my  obligations  are  carefully  indicated  in  my 
"  Notes  on  the  Illustrations,"  prefixed  to  each  volume  of  the 
present  work.  In  the  same  annotated  list  I  have  made 
specific  acknowledgments  of  the  many  favours  and  courtesies 
received  from  kind  friends  in  the  United  States  and  in 
England. 

But  there  is  one  of  these  to  whom  my  indebtedness  is 
so  great  as  to  call  for  a  distinct  paragraph.  Many  persons 
have  heard  of  the  artistic  and  antiquarian  treasures,  illus- 
trative of  American  history,  collected  by  Dr.  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet,  of  New  York  ;  but  few  have  had  the  opportunity 
to  form  an  idea  of  their  extent  and  value.  From  Dr. 
Emmet's  wealth  I  have  taken  far  less  than  he  would  gladly 
have  bestowed  upon  me,  for  the  plan  of  my  book  had  a 
limit,  while  to  his  generosity  there  was  none. 


PREFACE  vii 

Since  I  wrote  the  preceding  paragraph  I  have  been  in- 
formed that  Dr.  Emmet's  collection  has  been  placed  in  the 
Lenox  Library. 

It  is  an  obvious  comment  upon  the  present  work,  that  a 
story  of  the  American  Revolution  which  stops  with  the  sur- 
render of  Cornwallis  and  the  consequent  fall  of  Lord  North's 
ministry  is  incomplete.  One  might  reply,  in  general,  that 
any  historical  narrative  must  needs  be  incomplete  wherever 
it  may  happen  to  stop ;  but  on  the  present  occasion  a  more 
suitable  answer  is  that  the  story  is  continued  in  my  book 
entitled  "  The  Critical  Period  of  American  History,"  the 
first  chapter  of  which  deals  with  the  Results  of  Yorktown. 

The  text  of  this  edition  has  been  thoroughly  revised,  and 
in  many  places  new  matter  has  been  added. 

Cambridge,  September  10,  1896. 


PREFACE   TO   THE   FIRST   EDITION 


In  the  course  of  my  work  as  assistant  librarian  of  Har- 
vard University  in  1872  and  the  next  few  years,  I  had  occa- 
sion to  overhaul  what  we  used  to  call  the  "  American  Room," 
and  to  superintend  or  revise  the  cataloguing  of  some  twenty 
thousand  volumes  and  pamphlets  relating  to  America.  In 
the  course  of  this  work  my  attention  was  called  more  and 
more  to  sundry  problems  and  speculations  connected  with 
the  transplantation  of  European  communities  to  American 
soil,  their  development  under  the  new  conditions,  and  the 
effect  of  all  this  upon  the  general  progress  of  civilization. 
The  study  of  aboriginal  America  itself  had  already  pre- 
sented to  me  many  other  interesting  problems  in  connec- 
tion with  the  study  of  primitive  culture. 

In  1879,  l88l>  an<3  1882  I  gave  courses  of  lectures  at  the 
Old  South  Meeting-House  in  Boston,  in  aid  of  the  fund 
for  the  preservation  of  that  venerable  building,  and  in  pur- 
suance of  Mrs.  Hemenway's  scheme  for  making  it  a  place 
for  the  teaching  of  American  history.  As  to  the  success 
of  that  scheme  we  may  now  speak  with  some  satisfac- 
tion. The  preservation  of  the  noble  old  church  may  be 
regarded  as  assured ;  the  courses  of  instruction  there  given 
in  American  history  and  cognate  subjects  are  attended  by 
thousands,  old  and  young,  especially  by  school-teachers  and 
their   pupils ;    and    similar   courses    of   study  have   already 


x  PREFACE   TO   THE   FIRST   EDITION 

been  inaugurated  in  several  other  cities  and  towns.  It  is 
believed  that  the  good  results  of  this  work  will  be  mani- 
fold, and  I  shall  always  take  pleasure  in  recollecting  that 
it  started  with  my  lectures  of  1879. 

The  general  title  of  those  lectures  —  which  were  after- 
ward repeated  in  London  and  Edinburgh,  and  in  many 
American  cities  — was  "America's  Place  in  History."  They 
dealt  chiefly  with  the  discovery  and  colonization  of  Amer- 
ica, and  contained  sundry  generalizations  since  embodied 
in  "American  Political  Ideas"  and  in  the  first  chapter  of 
"  The  Beginnings  of  New  England."  Some  further  gen- 
eralizations of  a  similar  sort  will  be  worked  out  in  my 
forthcoming  book  —  now  in  press  —  "  The  Discovery  of 
America."  1 

While  busy  in  this  work,  the  plan  occurred  to  me  in  1881 
of  writing  a  narrative  history  of  the  United  States,  neither 
too  long  to  be  manageable  nor  too  brief  to  be  interesting, 
something  that  might  comprise  the  whole  story  from  1492 
to  (say)  1865  within  four  octavos,  like  the  book  of  my 
lamented  friend,  the  late  John  Richard  Green.  Plans  of 
this  sort,  to  be  properly  carried  out,  require  much  time,  and 
a  concurrence  of  favourable  circumstances,  as  Mr.  Cotter 
Morison  has  pointed  out  in  his  sketch  of  Gibbon.  If  my 
plan  is  ever  fully  realized,  it  can  only  be  after  many  years, 
especially  since  its  dimensions  have  been  greatly  expanded. 
Meanwhile  it  has  seemed  to  me  that  fragments  of  the  work 

1  The  Discovery  of  America,  with  some  Account  of  Ancient  Amer- 
ica and  the  Spanish  Conquest,  2  vols.,  crown  8vo,  was  published  in 
1892.  This  book  originated  in  studies  of  Spanish  and  Mussulman 
history  in  1862-64,  long  before  I  had  begun  to  feel  especially  inter- 
ested in  American  history,  and  I  should  probably  have  written  it  even 
if  the  later  interest  had  never  arisen. 


PREFACE   TO    THE    FIRST   EDITION  xi 

might  as  well  be  published  from  time  to  time  as  to  be  lying 
idle  in  manuscript  in  a  cupboard.  It  was  with  this  feeling 
that  "The  Critical  Period  of  American  History  "  and  "The 
Beginnings  of  New  England  "  were  brought  out,  and  it  is 
with  the  same  feeling  that  these  volumes  on  "  The  Ameri- 
can Revolution  "  are  now  offered  to  the  public. 

In  writing  the  story  of  this  period  my  design  was  not  so 
much  to  contribute  new  facts  as  to  shape  the  narrative  in 
such  a  way  as  to  emphasize  relations  of  cause  and  effect 
that  are  often  buried  in  the  mass  of  details.  One  is  con- 
stantly tempted,  in  such  a  narrative,  to  pause  for  discussion, 
and  to  add  item  upon  item  of  circumstantial  description 
because  it  is  interesting  in  itself;  but  in  conformity  with 
the  plan  of  the  book  of  which  this  was  to  have  been  a  part, 
it  was  necessary  to  withstand  such  temptations.  I  have 
not  even  undertaken  to  mention  all  the  events  of  the  Rev- 
olutionary War.  For  example,  nothing  is  said  about  the 
Penobscot  expedition,  which  was  a  matter  of  interest  to  the 
people  of  Massachusetts,  but  of  no  significance  in  relation 
to  the  general  history  of  the  war. 

The  present  work  is  in  no  sense  "  based  upon  "  lectures, 
but  it  has  been  used  as  a  basis  for  lectures.  When  I  had 
nearly  finished  writing  it,  in  1883,  I  happened  to  read  a 
few  passages  to  some  friends,  and  was  thereupon  urged  to 
read  a  large  part  of  the  book  in  public.  This  was  done  in 
the  Old  South  Meeting-House  early  in  1884.  The  lec- 
tures were  afterward  given  in  many  towns  and  cities,  from 
Maine  to  Oregon,  usually  to  very  large  audiences.  In 
Boston,  New  York,  and  St.  Louis  the  whole  course  was 
given  from  two  to  five  times ;  and  single  lectures  were 
repeated  in  many  places.  I  was  greatly  surprised  at  the 
interest  thus  shown  in  a  plain  narrative  of  events  already 


xh  PREFACE   TO    THE    FIRST   EDITION 

well  known,  and  have  never  to  this  day  understood  the 
secret  of  it. 

On  some  accounts  I  should  have  been  glad  to  withhold 
this  book  some  years  longer,  in  the  hope  of  changing  its 
plan  somewhat  and  giving  the  subject  a  fuller  treatment, 
now  that  it  is  not  to  appear  as  part  of  a  larger  work.  But 
so  many  requests  have  been  made  for  the  story  in  book 
form  that  it  has  seemed  best  to  yield  to  them. 

I  have  not  thought  it  worth  while  to  add  to  the  present 
work  a  bibliographical  note,  because,  in  view  of  the  exist- 
ence of  Mr.  Justin  Winsor's  "  Reader's  Handbook  of  the 
American  Revolution,"  such  a  note  would  be  quite  super- 
fluous. Mr.  Winsor's  book  contains  a  vast  amount  of  biblio- 
graphical information,  most  lucidly  arranged,  within  a  very 
small  compass,  and  costs  but  a  trifle.  From  it  the  general 
reader  can  find  out  "where  to  go"  for  further  information 
concerning  any  and  all  points  that  may  come  up  in  these 
volumes  ;  and  if  then  he  still  wants  more,  he  may  con- 
sult the  sixth  and  seventh  volumes  of  Winsor's  "  Narrative 
and  Critical  History  of  America,"  and  the  appendix  to  the 
eighth  volume. 

St.  Louis,  April  14,  1891. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   I 

THE   BEGINNINGS 


PAGE 


Relations  between  the  American  colonies  and  the  British  govern- 
ment in  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century     .  .  I 

The  Lords  of  Trade 2 

The  governors'  salaries 3 

Sir  Robert  Walpole 4 

Views  of  the   Lords  of  Trade  as  to  the  need  for  a  union  of  the 

colonies 5 

Weakness  of  the  sentiment  of  union 6 

The  Albany  Congress 6 

Franklin's  plan  for  a  federal  union  (1754) 7,8 

Rejection  of  Franklin's  plan 9 

Shirley  recommends  a  stamp  act 10 

The  writs  of  assistance 11 

The  chief  justice  of  New  York 12 

Otis's  "  Vindication  " 13 

Expenses  of  the  French  War 14 

Grenville's  resolves 15 

Reply  of  the  colonies 16 

Passage  of  the  Stamp  Act 17 

Patrick  Henry  and  the  Parsons'  Cause  .         .         .         .         .         18 

Resolutions  of  Virginia  concerning  the  Stamp  Act  .         .       19,  20 

The  Stamp  Act  Congress 20-22 

Declaration  of  the  Massachusetts  assembly     .         .  .         .22 

Resistance  to  the  Stamp  Act  in  Boston 23 

And  in  New  York 24 

Debate  in  the  House  of  Commons 25,  26 

Repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act 26,  27 

The  Duke  of  Grafton's  ministry 28 

Charles  Townshend  and  his  revenue  acts          ....        29-31 
Attack  upon  the  New  York  assembly 32 


xiv  CONTENTS 

Parliament  did  not  properly  represent  the  British  people         .       32,  33 

Difficulty  of  the  problem 34 

Representation  of  Americans  in  Parliament 35 

Mr.  Gladstone  and  the  Boers 36 

Death  of  Townshend .         .         .         .37 

His  political  legacy  to  George  III 37 

Character  of  George  III. 38,  39 

English  parties  between  1760  and  1784 40,41 

George  III.  as  a  politician 42 

His  chief  reason  for  quarrelling  with  the  Americans    .         .         .42,  43 


CHAPTER    II 

THE   CRISIS 

Character  of  Lord  North 44 

John  Dickinson  and  the  "  Farmer's  Letters  "        ....        45 

The  Massachusetts  circular  letter 46,  47 

Lord  Hillsborough's  instructions  to  Bernard         ....         48 

The  "  Illustrious  Ninety-Two  " 48 

Impressment  of  citizens 49 

Affair  of  the  sloop  Liberty A9S1 

Statute  of  Henry  VIII.  concerning  "  treason  committed  abroad  "  .     52 

Samuel  Adams  makes  up  his  mind  (1768) 53—56 

Arrival  of  troops  in  Boston 56,  57 

Letters  of  "Vindex" 58 

Debate  in  Parliament 59, 60 

All  the  Townshend  acts,  except  the  one  imposing  a  duty  upon  tea, 

to  be  repealed 61 

Recall  of  Governor  Bernard 61 

Character  of  Thomas  Hutchinson         .         .         .         .         .         .61,62 

Resolutions  of  Virginia  concerning  the  Townshend  acts  .         .     63 

Conduct  of  the  troops  in  Boston 64 

Assault  on  James  Otis 64 

The  "  Boston  Massacre  " 65-68 

Some  of  its  lessons .         .         .       69-72 

Lord  North  becomes  prime  minister     .         .         .         .         .         .         72 

Action  of  the  New  York  merchants 73 

Assemblies  convened  in  strange  places         .         .         .         .         .         74 

Taxes  in  Maryland 74 

The  "  Regulators  "  in  North  Carolina 74 

Affair  of  the  schooner  Gaspee 75>76 

The  salaries  of  the  Massachusetts  judges 76 

Jonathan  Mayhew's  suggestion  (1 766) 77 


CONTENTS  xv 

The  committees  of  correspondence  in  Massachusetts  ...         78 

Intercolonial  committees  of  correspondence 79 

Revival  of  the  question  of  taxation       .         .         .               "*!         .         80 
The  king's  ingenious  scheme  for  tricking  the  Americans  into  buy- 
ing the  East  India  Company's  tea 81 

How  Boston  became  the  battle-ground 82 

Advice  solemnly  sought  and  given  by  the  Massachusetts  towns     82-84 
Arrival  of  the  tea  ;  meeting  at  the  Old  South  .         .         .         .       84,  85 

The  tea-ships  placed  under  guard 85 

Rotch's  dilatory  manoeuvres 86 

Great  town  meeting  at  the  Old  South 87,  88 

The  tea  thrown  into  the  harbour 88,  89 

Moral  grandeur  of  the  scene 9°>  91 

How  Parliament  received  the  news 9I-93 

The  Boston  Port  Bill 93 

The  Regulating  Act 93"95 

Act  relating  to  the  shooting  of  citizens 96 

The  quartering  of  troops  in  towns 96 

The  Quebec  Act 96 

General  Gage  sent  to  Boston 97?  9^ 


CHAPTER   III 

THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS 

Protest  of  the  Whig  Lords 99 

Belief  that  the  Americans  would  not  fight 100 

Belief  that  Massachusetts  would  not  be  supported  by  the  other 

colonies 101 

News  of  the  Port  Bill 101, 102 

Samuel  Adams  at  Salem .    103,  104 

Massachusetts  nullifies  the  Regulating  Act  .        .         .         .105 

John  Hancock  and  Joseph  Warren 106,  107 

The  Suffolk  County  Resolves 108 

Provincial  Congress  in  Massachusetts 109 

First    meeting    of     the     Continental    Congress    (September     5, 

1774) .110,111 

Debates  in  Parliament 112,113 

William   Howe  appointed   commander-in-chief  of    the   forces   in 

America 113 

Richard,  Lord  Howe,  appointed  admiral  of  the  fleet    .         .         .114 

Franklin  returns  to  America 115 

State  of  feeling  in  the  middle  colonies 116 

Lord  North's  mistaken  hopes  of  securing  New  York       .         .         .117 


xvi  CONTENTS 

Affairs  in  Massachusetts 118 

Dr.  Warren's  oration  at  the  Old  South 119 

Attempt  to  corrupt  Samuel  Adams 120 

Orders  to  arrest  Adams  and  Hancock      .         .         .        .        .        .121 

Paul  Revere's  ride .        .         122,123 

Pitcairn  fires  upon  the  yeomanry  at  Lexington  .  .  .  124,  125 
The  troops  repulsed  at  Concord  ;  their  dangerous  situation  126,  127 
The  retreating  troops  rescued  by  Lord  Percy  .  .  .  .128 
Retreat  continued  from  Lexington  to  Charlestown  .  .  .  .129 
Rising  of  the  country;  the  British  besieged  in  Boston  .  .  130 
Effects  of  the  news  in  England  and  in  America      .        .         .    130-133 

Mecklenburg  County  Resolves 133 

Legend  of  the  Mecklenburg  "  Declaration  of  Independence"    133—135 

Benedict  Arnold  and  Ethan  Allen 135 

Capture  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point    ....        136-140 

Second  meeting  of  the  Continental  Congress 141 

Appointment  of  George  Washington  to  command  the  Continental 

army 142-144 

The  siege  of  Boston 145 

Gage's  proclamation 145 

The  Americans  occupy  Bunker's  and  Breed's  hills      .         .         .       146 

Arrival  of  Putnam,  Stark,  and  Warren 147 

Gage  decides  to  try  an  assault 148,  149 

First  assault  repulsed       . 149 

Second  assault  repulsed .         .150 

Prescott's  powder  gives  out 150 

Third  assault  succeeds;  the  British  take  the  hill  .        ,        .       151 

British  and  American  losses 151, 152 

Excessive  slaughter ;  significance  of  the  battle    .         .        .  153 

Its  moral  effects 154 


CHAPTER    IV 

INDEPENDENCE 

Washington's  arrival  in  Cambridge 155 

Continental  officers  :  Daniel  Morgan 156 

Benedict  Arnold,  John  Stark,  John  Sullivan 157 

Nathanael  Greene,  Henry  Knox 158 

Israel  Putnam 159 

Horatio  Gates  and  Charles  Lee 160 

Lee's  personal  peculiarities 161,  162 

Dr.  Benjamin  Church 163 

Difficult  work  for  Washington 164 


CONTENTS  xvii 

Absence  of  governmental  organization 165 

New  government  of  Massachusetts  (July,  1775)  ....  166 
Congress  sends  a  last  petition  to  the  king  .....  167 
The  king  issues  a  proclamation,  and  tries  to  hire  troops   from 

Russia 168-170 

Catherine  refuses  ;  the  king  hires  German  troops    .         .         .         .170 

Indignation  in  Germany 171 

Burning  of  Falmouth  (Portland) 171 

Effects  of  all  this  upon  Congress 172,173 

Montgomery's  invasion  of  Canada  and  capture  of  Montreal  .  174,  175 
Arnold's  march  through  the  wilderness  of  Maine  .         .         .176 

Assault  upon  Quebec  (December  31,  1775) 177 

Total  failure  of  the  attempt  upon  Canada 178 

The  siege  of  Boston 179 

Washington  seizes  Dorchester  Heights  (March  4,  1776)  .  180,  181 
The  British  troops  evacuate  Boston  (March  17)  .         .    182,  183 

Movement  toward   independence;    a  provisional  flag  (January  1, 

1776) 184 

Effect  of  the  hiring  of  "  myrmidons  " 185 

Thomas  Paine 185 

His  pamphlet  entitled  "  Common  Sense  "     ....        186,187 

Fulminations  and  counter-fulminations 188 

The  Scots  in  North  Carolina       .         .         .  .         .         .         .188 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  sails  for  the  Carolinas 189 

The  fight  at  Moore's  Creek;    North  Carolina  declares  for  inde-     ' 

pendence 189 

Action  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia 190 

Affairs  in  Virginia;  Lord  Dunmore's  proclamation  .         .         .   190 

Skirmish  at  the  Great  Bridge,  and  burning  of  Norfolk         .         .       191 

Virginia  declares  for  independence 192 

Action  of  Rhode  Island  and  Massachusetts  .  .         .       192 

Resolution  adopted  in  Congress  May  15  .....  193 

Instructions  from  the  Boston  town  meeting  ....       194 

Richard  Henry  Lee's  motion  in  Congress 194 

Debate  on  Lee's  motion 195, 196 

Action  of  the  other  colonies ;  Connecticut  and  New  Hampshire     .  196 

New  Jersey .        .       197 

Pennsylvania  and  Delaware I97_I99 

Maryland        .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .       199 

The  situation  in  New  York 200 

The  Tryon  plot 201 

Final  debate  on  Lee's  motion 202 

Vote  on  Lee's  motion    .         .         . 203 

Form  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence 204 


xvm  CONTENTS 

Thomas  Jefferson 204,  205 

The  declaration  was  a  deliberate  expression  of  the  sober  thought 
of  the  American  people         .         .         .         .  .        .    206, 207 


CHAPTER   V 

FIRST   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE 

Lord  Cornwallis  arrives  upon  the  scene 208 

Battle  of  Fort  Moultrie  (June  28,  1776)  ....  209-211 
British  plan  for  conquering  the  valley  of  the  Hudson,  and  cutting 

the  United  Colonies  in  twain 212 

Lord  Howe's  futile  attempt  to  negotiate  with  Washington  unoffi- 
cially   213, 214 

The  military  problem  at  New  York 214-216 

Importance  of  Brooklyn  Heights 217 

Battle  of  Long  Island  (August  27,  1776) 218-220 

Howe  prepares  to  besiege  the  Heights 220 

But  Washington  slips  away  with  his  army 221 

And  robs  the  British  of  the  most  golden  opportunity  ever  offered 

them 221-223 

The  conference  at  Staten  Island 223,  224 

General  Howe  takes  the  city  of  New  York  September  15  .  .  224 
But  Mrs.  Lindley  Murray  saves  the  garrison        ....       225 

Attack  upon  Harlem  Heights 225 

The  new  problem  before  Howe 225,  226 

He  moves  upon  Throg's  Neck,  but  Washington  changes  base  .  227 
Baffled  at  White  Plans,  Howe  tries  a  new  plan  ....  228 
Washington's  orders  in  view  of  the  emergency  ....  228 
Congress  meddles  with  the  situation  and  muddles  it  .  .  .  229 
Howe  takes  Fort  Washington  by  storm  (November  16)        .         .       230 

Washington  and  Greene 231 

Outrageous  conduct  of  Charles  Lee 231,232 

Greene  barely  escapes  from  Fort  Lee  (November  20)     .         .         .  233 

Lee  intrigues  against  Washington 233,  234 

Washington  retreats  into  Pennsylvania 234 

Reinforcements  come  from  Schuyler 235 

Fortunately  for  the  Americans,  the  British  capture   Charles  Lee 

(December  13) 235-238 

The  times  that  tried  men's  souls 238,  239 

Washington  prepares  to  strike  back 239 

He  crosses  the  Delaware,  and  pierces  the  British  centre  at  Trenton 

(December  26) 240,  241 

Cornwallis  comes  up  to  retrieve  the  disaster       ....        242 


CONTENTS  xix 

And  thinks  he  has  run  down  the   "  old  fox"  at  the  Assunpink 

(January  2,  1777) 242 

But  Washington  prepares  a  checkmate 243 

And  again  severs  the  British  line  at  Princeton  (January  3)      .         .  244 
General  retreat  of  the  British  upon  New  York     ....       245 

The  tables  completely  turned 246 

Washington's  superb  generalship 247 

Effects  in  England 248 

And  in  France 249 

Franklin's  arrival  in  France 250 

Secret  aid  from  France 251 

Lafayette  goes  to  America 252 

Efforts  toward  remodelling  the  Continental  army         .         .        252-255 

Services  of  Robert  Morris 255 

111  feeling  between  the  states 256 

Extraordinary  powers  conferred  upon  Washington  .         .    257-258 


CHAPTER   VI 

SECOND  BLOW  AT  THE  CENTRE 

Invasion  of  New  York  by  Sir  Guy  Carleton 259 

Arnold's  preparations 260 

Battle  of  Valcour  Island  (October  11,  1776)    ....   260-262 
Congress  promotes  five  junior  brigadiers  over  Arnold  (February 

19,  1777) 262 

Character  of  Philip  Schuyler 263 

Horatio  Gates 264 

Gates  intrigues  against  Schuyler 265 

His  unseemly  behaviour  before  Congress 266 

Charges  against  Arnold 267, 268 

Arnold  defeats  Tryon  at  Ridgefield  (April  27,  1777)       .         .         .  269 

Preparations  for  the  summer  campaign 269 

The  military  centre  of  the  United  States  was  the  state  of  New 

York 270 

A  second  blow  was  to  be  struck  at  the  centre ;  the  plan  of  cam- 
paign     .         .         .    ' .         .  271 

The  plan  was  unsound ;  it  separated  the  British  forces  too  widely, 

and  gave  the  Americans  the  advantage  of  interior  lines     .       272-274 
Germain's  fatal  error;  he  overestimated  the  strength  of  the  Tories  274 

Too  many  unknown  quantities 275 

Danger  from  New  England  ignored 276 

Germain's  negligence  ;  the  dispatch  that  was  never  sent         .         .  277 
Burgoyne  advances  upon  Ticonderoga  ....        277,  278 


xx  CONTENTS 

Phillips  seizes  Mount  Defiance 279 

Evacuation  of  Ticonderoga 279 

Battle  of  Hubbard  ton  (July  7)  .......  280 

One  swallow  does  not  make  a  summer  ....       280-282 

The  king's  glee  ;  wrath  of  John  Adams   .         .        .         .         .        .282 

Gates  was  chiefly  to  blame 282 

Burgoyne's  difficulties  beginning 283 

Schuyler  wisely  evacuates  Fort  Edward       .....       284 

Enemies  gathering  in  Burgoyne's  rear 285. 

Use  of  Indian  auxiliaries 285 

Burgoyne's  address  to  the  chiefs 286 

Burke  ridicules  the  address 286 

The  story  of  Jane  McCrea 287,  288 

The  Indians  desert  Burgoyne 289 

Importance   of    Bennington;    Burgoyne   sends   a   German  force 

against  it .         .     •   .         .         .290 

Stark  prepares  to  receive  the  Germans 291 

Battle  of  Bennington  (August  16)  ;  nearly  the  whole  German  army 

captured  on  the  field 292,  293 

Effect  of  the  news  ;  Burgoyne's  enemies  multiply  .  .  .  294 
Advance  of  St.  Leger  upon  Fort  Stanwix  ....  294,  295 
Herkimer  marches  against  him;  Herkimer's  plan        .        .         .       296 

Failure  of  the  plan • .         .  297 

Thayendanegea  prepares  an  ambuscade 298 

Battle  of  Oriskany  (August  6) 298-300 

Colonel  Willett's  sortie;  first  hoisting  of  the  stars  and  stripes  300-301 

Death  of  Herkimer        . 301 

Arnold  arrives  at  Schuyler's  camp 302 

And  volunteers  to  retrieve  Fort  Stanwix 303 

Yan  Yost  Cuyler  and  his  stratagem 304 

Flight  of  St.  Leger  (August  22)    .         .        .         .  .         .       305 

Burgoyne's  dangerous  situation 306 

Schuyler  superseded  by  Gates 306 

Position  of  the  two  armies  (August  19-September  12)    .        .         .  307 


CHAPTER   VII 

SARATOGA 

Why  Sir  William  Howe  went  to  Chesapeake  Bay  ....  308 
Charles  Lee  in  captivity         ........        308-310 

Treason  of  Charles  Lee 311-314 

Folly  of  moving  upon  Philadelphia  as  the  "rebel  capital  "         314,  315 
Effect  of  Lee's  advice 315 


CONTENTS  xxi 

Washington's  masterly  campaign  in  New  Jersey  (June,  1777)  316,  317 
Uncertainty  as  to  Howe's  next  movements      .         .         .         .317,318 

Howe's  letter  to  Burgoyne 318 

Comments  of  Washington  and  Greene 319,320 

Howe's  alleged  reason  trumped  up  and  worthless  .  .  .  320 
Burgoyne's  fate  was  practically  decided  when  Howe   arrived  at 

Elkton 321 

Washington's  reasons  for  offering  battle 321 

He  chooses  a  very  strong  position 322 

Battle  of  the  Brandywine  (September  11)    .         .         .         .        322-326 

Washington's  skill  in  detaining  the  enemy 326 

The  British  enter  Philadelphia  (September  26)   ....       326 

Significance  of  Forts  Mercer  and  Mifflin 327 

The  situation  at  Germantown 327,  328 

Washington's  audacious  plan 328 

Battle  of  Germantown  (October  4) 329_332 

Howe  captures  Forts  Mercer  and  Mifflin 333 

Burgoyne  recognizes  the  fatal  error  of  Germain  ....       333 

Nevertheless  he  crosses  the  Hudson  River 334 

First  battle  at  Freeman's  Farm  (September  19)  .         .         .         .       335 

Quarrel  between  Gates  and  Arnold 33°-337 

Burgoyne's  supplies  cut  off 338 

Second  battle  at  Freeman's  Farm  (October  7) ;  the  British  totally 

defeated  by  Arnold 338-340 

The  British  army  is  surrounded 341 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  comes  up  the  river,  but  it  is  too  late  .         .         .  342 

The  silver  bullet 343 

Burgoyne  surrenders  (October  17)    .....         .343,344 

Schuyler's  magnanimity 345 

Bad  faith  of  Congress 346-349 

The  behaviour  of  Congress  was  simply  inexcusable     .         .  350 

What  became  of  the  captured  army 350,  351 


NOTES   ON   THE   ILLUSTRATIONS 


All  the  maps,  except  where  otherwise  specified,  have  been  made  from  my  drawings 
or  under  my  direction. 

George  Washington  {photogravure) Frontispiece 

After  the  Houdon  bust.  At  Franklin's  invitation,  the  celebrated  sculptor, 
Jean  Antoine  Houdon,  came  to  America  in  1785,  and  while  in  this  country- 
he  visited  Washington  at  Mount  Vernon.  A  result  of  this  visit  was  the 
statue  in  the  Capitol  at  Richmond,  which  Houdon  finished  in  1788.  From  a 
mould  by  Houdon  the  bust  here  shown  was  made  for  Rufus  King,  and 
passed  from  his  hands,  through  those  of  Oliver  Wolcott  and  Henry  Kirke 
Brown,  into  the  possession  of  the  late  Hamilton  Fish,  secretary  of  state  in 
the  cabinet  of  President  Grant.  The  painter  Gilbert  Stuart  is  said  to  have 
admitted  that  this  bust  was  a  better  likeness  of  Washington  than  his  own 
canvas.  For  the  kind  permission  to  copy  it  I  am  indebted  to  Hon.  Nicholas 
Fish,  of  New  York.     The  autograph  is  from  Washington's  signature  to  a 

bill  of  exchange. 

Page 

Sir  Robert  Walpole 4 

After  an  original  painting  in  enamel  by  Zincke,  engraved  by  Bovi  for 
Coxe's  Memoirs  of  Walpole,  London,  1 798. 

Walpole's  Autograph 5 

From  Doyle's  Official  Baronage  of  England. 

Unite  or  Die 6 

From  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette,  1754.  Many  other  papers  used  the 
device  twenty  years  afterward. 

William  Shirley 10 

From  an  engraving  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection,  after  the  original  painting 
by  Thomas   Hudson.     Autograph  from   Memorial  History  of  Boston. 

James  Otis 12 

After  the  statue  by  Crawford,  in  the  chapel  at  Mount  Auburn  cemetery, 
Cambridge.     Autograph  from  Memorial  History  of  Boston. 

George  Grenville 14 

From  the  beautiful  engraving  by  Ridley,  in  The  Letters  of  funius,  Lon- 
don, 1797.     Autograph  from  the  Memorial  History  of  Boston. 

A  Stamp 16 

From  the  Memorial  History  of  Boston. 


xxiv                NOTES   ON   THE    ILLUSTRATIONS 
Charles  Thomson      


From  Du  Simitiere's  Thirteen  Portraits,  London,  1783.  Autograph 
from  Thomson's  signature  (as  Secretary  of  Congress)  to  Arnold's  commis- 
sion as  major-general;  facsimile  in  Smith  and  Watson's  Historical  and 
Literary  Curiosities,  Series  I.  plate  xlii. 

Speaker's  Chair  in  the  House  of  Burgesses 18 

From  a  photograph.  The  chair  is  preserved  in  the  State  Library  of  Vir- 
ginia, at  Richmond.  The  royal  arms,  formerly  emblazoned  on  it,  were 
stripped  off  in  the  Revolution. 

Patrick  Henry  making  his  Tarquin  and  Cesar  Speech  .     19 

From  an  engraving  in  the  possession  of  the  Virginia  Historical  Society, 
after  the  original  painting  by  Peter  Frederick  Rothermel. 

Table  of  Prices  of  Stamped  Parchment  and  Paper  .  .  21 

From  a  broadside  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection. 

Death's  Head  in  the  Place  of  a  Stamp 23 

From  the  Boston  Gazette  and  Country  Journal,  Oct.  7,  1765,  in  the 
Library  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 

Funeral  Procession  of  the  Stamp  Act 27 

From  an  excessively  rare  print  in  the  collection  of  Dr.  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet. 

The  burial  place  is  decorated  with  the  skulls  of  the  recent  rebellions  of 
1715  and  1745,  and  over  ^  *s  tne  inscription:  "Within  this  Family  Vault 
lie  interred,  it  is  to  be  hoped  never  to  rise  again,  the  Star  Chamber  court, 
Ship  money,  Excise  money,  Public  Impost  without  Parliament,  the  Act  de 
Hceretico  comburendo,  Hearth  money,  General  Warrants,  and  .  .  .  [other 
things]  which  tended  to  alienate  the  affections  of  Englishmen  to  [sic]  their 
Country."  As  the  procession  approaches  the  vault,  the  burial  service  is  read 
by  Anti-Sejanus,  i.  e.,  Rev.  James  Scott,  author  of  a  series  of  virulent  news- 
paper articles  signed  Anti-Sejanus,  attacking  the  King's  policy  as  repre- 
sented by  his  hated  "  Sejanus,"  the  late  prime  minister,  Lord  Bute.  The 
banners  have  stamps  on  them ;  the  further  one  is  carried  by  Lord  Mans- 
field, the  Lord  Chief  Justice,  with  "  Scotch  Appeal "  sticking  out  of  his 
pocket,  in  allusion  to  the  fact  that  his  fortune  had  been  largely  made  through 
appeals  from  Scotch  courts  to  the  House  of  Lords ;  the  nearer  standard- 
bearer  is  probably  Lord  Henley,  who  had  been  Grenville's  Lord  Chancellor. 
The  little  coffin  (whose  bearer  must  of  course  be  Grenville  himself)  is  labelled 
"Miss  Americ  Stamp,  born  1765,  died  1766."  The  mourner  behind  Gren- 
ville, with  the  Scotch  cap  and  plaid  waistcoat,  is  Bute,  and  the  others  are 
members  of  Grenville's  ministry,  probably  the  Earls  of  Halifax,  Egremont, 
Gower,  and  Sandwich.  A  couple  of  bishops  bring  up  the  rear.  On  the 
right  are  bales  labelled  "  Stamps  from  America "  and  "  Black  Cloth  from 
America."  At  the  wharf  are  three  large  ships,  the  Conway,  the  Rocking- 
ham, and  the  Grafton,  preparing  to  sail,  while  on  the  front  of  the  Sheffield 
and  Birmingham  Warehouse  it  is  announced  that  "  Goods  are  now  shipped 
for  America."  A  box  containing  a  "  statue  of  Mr.  Pitt,"  which  is  being 
lowered  into  a  boat,  will  doubtless  meet  with  a  warm  welcome  from  his 
transatlantic  friends.  The  other  warehouses  are  marked  "Liverpool," 
"  Leeds,"  "  Halifax,"  and  "  Manchester." 


NOTES   ON    THE    ILLUSTRATIONS  xxv 

Autograph  of  the  Duke  of  Grafton 28 

From  the  Memorial  History  of  Boston. 

Charles  Townshend     . 29 

From  Walpole's  Memoirs  of  the  Reign  of  George  III.,  edited  by  Sir  Denis 
Le  Marchant,  London,  1845,  vol.  iii.  The  engraving  is  by  Cook,  after  the 
original  painting  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds.  Autograph  from  Correspondence 
of  the  Earl  of  Chatham,  London,  1839. 

(House  of  Commons  in  the  Eighteenth  Century     ...    31 
[House  of  Lords  in  the  Eighteenth  Century     ....    33 

Both  from  old  prints  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection. 

Patrick  Henry  {photogravure) facing  34 

After  the  painting  by  Sully.  Autograph  from  a  MS.  collection  in  Library 
of  Boston  Athenaeum. 

George  III 3§ 

From  an  engraving  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection,  after  the  original  portrait 
painted  by  Thomas  Frye,  about  1760. 

Autograph  of  George  III 39 

From  Lossing's  Field-Book  of  the  Revolution. 

Edmund  Burke 41 

From  the  engraving  in  Lodge's  Gallery  of  Portraits,  after  the  painting  by 
Sir  Joshua  Reynolds.     Autograph  from  Burke's  Works,  vol.  i. 

Lord  North 44 

From  Murray's  Impartial  History  of  the  Present  War,  London,  1780. 

Autograph  of  Lord  North 45 

From  Doyle's  Official  Baronage  of  England. 

John  Dickinson 46 

From  Du  Simitiere's  Thirteen  Portraits,  London,  1783.  Autograph 
from  Winsor's  America. 

List  of  Boston  Merchants  infringing  the  Non-Importa- 
tion Agreement  ....         47 

From  Edes'  and  Gill's  North  American  Almanack,  1770. 

Faneuil  Hall,  the  "  Cradle  of  Liberty  "       50 

From  an  old  print.  The  appearance  of  the  building  and  neighbourhood 
has  greatly  changed. 

Sir  Francis  Bernard 51 

From  the  original  painting  by  Copley,  in  the  hall  of  Christ  Church, 
Oxford  ;  by  permission  of  the  Dean  and  Canons  of  Christ  Church,  and 
through  the  kindness  of  my  friends,  Messrs.  Macmillan  &  Co.,  of  London. 
Autograph  from  the  Memorial  History  of  Boston. 

Landing  of  the  Troops  in  Boston,  1768 54 

From  Edes'  and  Gill's  North  American  Almanack,  1770;  facsimile  of 
an  engraving  by  Paul  Revere. 


xxvi  NOTES    ON    THE    ILLUSTRATIONS 

Castle  William,  Boston  Harbour 55 

From  Winsor's  America,  after  a  photograph  of  a  view. preserved  in  the 
British  Museum. 

Samuel  Adams  {photogravure) facing  56 

From  the  original  painting  by  Copley,  in  the  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  Bos- 
ton, representing  Adams  in  1 771,  at  the  age  of  49.  Autograph  from  the 
Declaration  of  Independence. 

Henry  Seymour  Conway 58 

From  an  engraving  in  the  Londoti  Magazine,  April,  1 782,  after  the  ori- 
ginal painting  by  Gainsborough,  in  the  possession  of  the  Duke  of  Argyle. 
For  his  autograph  see  below,  vol.  ii.  p.  304. 

Isaac  Barre 59 

From  the  photogravure  in  Walpole's  Me7noirs  of  the  Reign  of  George  HI., 
edited  by  Russell  Barker,  London  and  New  York,  1894,  by  permission  of 
Messrs.  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons.  The  photogravure  is  from  a  mezzotint  by 
Houston,  after  the  original  painting  by  Hamilton.  Autograph  from  Memo- 
rial History  of  Boston. 

Thomas  Hutchinson 61 

From  the  painting  attributed  to  Copley,  in  the  possession  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Historical  Society.  Autograph  from  Hutchinson's  Diary  and 
Letters,  vol.  i. 

Capitol  at  Williamsburgh,  Virginia 62 

From  the  Magazine  of  American  History >t  vol.  xi. 

Apollo  Room  in  the  Raleigh  Tavern  at  Williamsburgh    63 

From  the  same. 

Stove  used  in  the  House  of  Burgesses 64 

From  a  photograph.  The  stove  is  preserved  in  the  State  Library  of  Vir- 
ginia, at  Richmond. 

Old  Brick  Meeting-House,  Boston 66 

From  an  old  print. 

Paul  Revere's  Plan  of  King  Street,  Boston 67 

Reduced  facsimile  of  Paul  Revere's  plan,  used  as  evidence  in  the  trial  of 
Captain  Preston  and  the  soldiers.  The  original  manuscript  plan  is  in  the 
collection  of  Hon.  Mellen  Chamberlain,  of  Boston.  It  is  printed,  with  a  full 
description  and  Key,  in  Winsor's  America,  vi.  47,  48. 

Old  State  House  in  Boston,  West  Front 69 

From  an  old  print. 

Paul  Revere's  Picture  of  the  Boston  Massacre  {coloured 

engraving) facing  72 

From  one  of  the  very  scarce  original  prints,  in  my  library,  at  Cambridge. 
It  belonged  to  my  great-great-grandfather,  Benjamin  Francis,  of  Medford, 
who  was  one  of  the  minute-men  in  the  Concord-Lexington  right,  and  cousin 
to  Col.  Ebenezer  Francis,  who  commanded,  with  Seth  Warner,  at  the  battle 


NOTES    ON   THE    ILLUSTRATIONS  xxvii 

of  Hubbardton  (see  below,  p.  280).  The  picture  is  still  in  perfect  condi- 
tion, in  its  original  black  and  gold  frame,  and  age  has  given  to  its  colouring 
a  mellowness  and  refinement  which  the  copy  is  very  far  from  reproducing. 

Autograph  of  William  Tryon 74 

From  Winsor's  America. 

Stephen  Hopkins 75 

From  Trumbull's  painting,  in  the  collection  at  Yale  University.  "  In 
1 790  .  .  .  Trumbull  formed  the  design  of  painting  an  historic  memorial, 
on  a  canvas  of  heroic  proportions,  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. Where  it  was  possible,  the  faces  and  figures  there  introduced 
were  painted  either  from  the  living  figures  or  from  some  authentic  portrait. 
Mr.  Trumbull  found  nothing  which  could  be  taken  as  a  representation  of 
Stephen  Hopkins  ;  and  so,  says  Mr.  Beaman,  'his  son,  Judge  Rufus  Hopkins, 
who  much  resembled  his  father,  was  taken  for  him.'"  Foster's  Stephen 
Hopkins,  Providence,  1884,  p.  198  ;  cf.  C.  C.  Beaman,  in  Essex  Institute 
Hist.  Coll.  ii.  121.  Mr.  Foster  tells  me  that  Stephen  Hopkins's  step- 
daughter, Ruth  Smith,  testified  that  no  portrait  of  him  was  ever  known  to  be 
in  existence,  "  not  even  a  silhouette."  I  give  the  Trumbull  "  portrait "  for 
its  intrinsic  interest  as  a  study  for  the  face  which  appears,  surmounted  in 
Quaker  fashion  by  the  hat,  in  the  background  of  the  famous  historical  pic- 
ture ;  see  below,  p.  200.  It  has  sometimes  been  given,  in  popular  books, 
without  explanation.  The  autograph  is  from  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence. 

Jonathan  Mayhew 77 

From  the  portrait  in  Winsor's  America,  vi.  71,  which  is  copied  from  a 
mezzotint  by  Richard  Jennys,  in  the  Library  of  the  American  Antiquarian 
Society,  at  Worcester.     Autograph  from  the  Memorial  History  of  Boston. 

Autograph  of  Daniel  Leonard 79 

From  the  same. 

Autograph  of  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth 81 

From  Winsor's  America. 

Lord  North  pouring  Tea  down  Columbia's  Throat     .    .    83 

From  a  print  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection.  The  original  engraving,  by  Paul 
Revere,  was  published  in  the  Royal  American  Magazine,  1774,  under  the 
title  of  "  The  Able  Doctor,  or  America  swallowing  the  Bitter  Draught." 
Lord  North,  with  the  Boston  Port  Bill  sticking  out  of  his  pocket,  is  pouring 
scalding  tea  down  the  throat  of  Columbia,  whose  arms  are  held  by  Lord 
Mansfield,  while  weeping  Britannia  turns  her  head  aside. 

Old  South  Meeting-House,  Boston 86 

From  a  photograph. 

Table   and   Chair  from    Governor   Hutchinson's   House 
at  Milton 87 

Photographed  by  the  kind  permission  of  Miss  Rosalie  G.  Russell,  the 
present  owner  of  the  estate. 


xxviii  NOTES    ON    THE    ILLUSTRATIONS 

John  Adams s 89 

From  the  original  painting  by  Copley,  in  Memorial  Hall,  Harvard  Univer- 
sity. Autograph  from  a  group  of  manuscript  signatures  of  the  judges  and 
counsel  in  the  trial  of  Captain  Preston  and  his  men,  in  the  collection  of 
Hon.  Mellen  Chamberlain. 

Lord  George  Germain 92 

From  an  engraving  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  after 
the  original  painting  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds.  Autograph  from  MS.  collec- 
tion in  Library  of  Boston  Athenaeum. 

Virtual  Representation,  1775 94 

From  a  satirical  print  in  the  possession  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society. 

Thomas  Gage 99 

From  an  engraving  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection,  after  a  family  portrait  be- 
longing to  the  heirs  of  the  general's  younger  son,  the  late  Admiral  Sir  Wil- 
liam Gage.     Autograph  from  Sumner's  History  of  East  Boston. 

Fox  and  Burke  denouncing  Lord  North  ........  101 

A  caricature  by  James  Gillray,  reproduced  in  Wright's  House  of  Hanover, 
London,  1842,  vol.  ii. 

John  Hancock 104 

From  the  original  painting  by  Copley,  in  the  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  Bos- 
ton. Autograph  from  his  signature  to  Arnold's  commission  as  major-gen- 
eral ;  facsimile  in  Smith  and  Watson's  Historical  and  Literary  Curiosities, 
Series  I.  plate  xlii.  This  is  slightly  reduced ;  whereas  his  signature  to  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  somewhat  exaggerated  in  size. 

Joseph  Warren I06 

From  Winsor's  America,  vi.  54,  after  a  pastel  in  the  possession  of  the 
heirs  of  the  late  Hon.  Charles  Francis  Adams.  Autograph  from  Memorial 
History  of  Boston. 

Suffolk  Resolves  House  at  Milton  .    . 107 

From  a  photograph. 

Notice  of  the  Boston  Committee  of  Correspondence.    .  108 

From  Winsor's  America. 

Peyton  Randolph IIO 

From  a  contemporary  painting  in  the  Library  of  the  Virginia  Historical 
Society.  Autograph  from  Appleton's  Cyclopedia  of  American  Biography, 
by  permission  of  Messrs.  D.  Appleton  &  Co. 

Carpenters'  Hall,  Philadelphia m 

From  Scharf's  History  of  Philadelphia,  by  permission. 

Sir  William  Howe H3 

From  Murray's  Impartial  History  of  the  Present  War,  London,  1780. 
Autograph  from  Winsor's  America. 


NOTES    ON    THE    ILLUSTRATIONS  xxix 

Richard,  Lord  Howe 115 

From  a  contemporary  English  engraving,  large  folio,  in  Dr.  Emmet's  col- 
lection.    Autograph  from  Doyle's  Official  Baronage  of  England. 

Benjamin  Franklin  {photogravure) facing  116 

From  the  original  portrait  by  Duplessis  in  the  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  Bos- 
ton.    Autograph  from  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

Interior  of  Old  South  Meeting-House,  Boston  .     ...  118 

From  an  old  print,  showing  the  church  as  it  was  before  the  pulpit  and 
pews  were  taken  out.  The  place  of  the  pulpit  is  now  occupied  by  an  ordi- 
nary platform  for  lectures.     The  old  sounding  board  still  remains. 

Old  North  Church,  Salem  Street,  Boston 120 

.  From  a  photograph.  The  true  name  of  this  Episcopal  building  is  Christ 
Church.  It  is  the  oldest  public  edifice  now  standing  in  Boston,  having  been 
built  in  1723,  six  years  before  the  present  Old  South  Meeting-House.  An- 
other building  (Congregational),  situated  in  North  Square,  was  known  as  the 
Old  North  Meeting-House,  and  the  similarity  of  name  has  been  a  source  of 
confusion.  It  was  in  the  steeple  of  this  Episcopal  church  on  Salem  Street 
that  the  signal  lanterns  for  Paul  Revere  were  hung  by  his  friend  the  sexton, 
Robert  Newman.  From  this  same  steeple  Gage  is  said  to  have  watched  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 

Autograph  of  Francis  Smith 121 

From  the  collection  of  Dr.  T.  A.  Emmet. 

Jonas  Clark's  House  at  Lexington 122 

From  a  drawing  after  a  photograph,  with  the  old-fashioned  features  re- 
stored after  suggestions  from  old  prints.  The  house,  which  was  built  in 
1698,  is  still  standing,  and  in  good  condition. 

Paul  Revere 123 

After  a  crayon  drawing  from  life  by  St.  Memin,  in  the  possession  of  Re- 
vere's  great-granddaughters,  the  Misses  Riddle,  of  Hingham.  Autograph 
from  a  MS.  collection  in  Library  of  Boston  Athenaeum. 

Autograph  of  John  Parker 124 

Facsimile  of  the  signature  to  his  MS.  deposition  concerning  the  Lexington 
affair,  in  the  Arthur  Lee  Papers  in  the  Library  of  Harvard  University. 

Jonathan  Harrington's  House,  on  Lexington  Common.    .  124 

From  a  recent  photograph,  showing  the  boulder  placed  as  a  monument  at 
the  line  where  the  minute-men  stood. 

Statue  of  the  Minute-Man,  by  Daniel  French    .     .     .     .125 

From  a  photograph. 

The  Old  Manse  at  Concord 126 

From  a  photograph. 

Lord  Percy 127 

From  Murray's  Impartial  History,  London,  1780.  Autograph  from  the 
Memorial  History  of  Boston. 


xxx                  NOTES    ON    THE    ILLUSTRATIONS 
Pitcairn's  Pistols 128 

From  a  photograph.  The  pistols,  taken  from  Pitcairn's  horse,  were  a  few 
days  afterward  presented  to  Israel  Putnam,  who  carried  them  to  the  end  of 
his  military  service.  In  1879  they  were  presented  by  his  grandson's  widow 
to  the  Cary  Library  in  the  Town  Hall  at  Lexington. 

Fanciful  Picture  of  the  Concord-Lexington  Fight     .     .129 

This  extremely  melodramatic  and  ridiculous  representation  is  from  a  con- 
temporary French  print,  preserved  in  the  Library  of  Congress. 

Israel  Putnam 131 

From  Winsor's  America,  after  an  engraving  published  by  C.  Shepherd  in 
September,  1775,  and  reproduced  in  Smith's  British  Mezzotinto  Portraits. 
Autograph  also  from  Winsor. 

St.  John's  Church,  Richmond 132 

From  an  old  print  preserved  in  the  Virginia  State  Library. 

Facsimile  of  Signatures  of  the  Mecklenburg  Committee  134 

From  Cooke's  Revolutionary  History  of  North  Carolina. 

Plan  of  Fort  Ticonderoga 136 

From  Rocque's  Set  of  Plans  and  Forts  in  America,  London,  1765,  in 
the  State  Library  of  New  York,  at  Albany. 

Statue  of  Ethan  Allen 137 

From  a  photograph  of  the  statue  by  Larkin  Goldsmith  Mead,  in  the  State 
House  at  Montpelier,  Vermont.     Autograph  from  Winsor's  America. 

Plan  of  the  Fort  at  Crown  Point 138 

From  Rocque's  Set  of  Plans,  etc. 

Facsimile    of    Ethan    Allen's    Letter    announcing    the 
Capture  of  Ticonderoga 139,  140 

Half-tone  reproduction  of  a  photograph  of  the  original  letter,  kindly  lent 
me  by  Colonel  D.  S.  Lamson,  of  Weston,  Mass. 

Washington  at  the  Age  of  Forty 143 

From  an  engraving,  after  the  original  portrait,  painted  at  Mount  Vernon 
in  1772  by  Charles  Wilson  Peale,  and  now  in  the  possession  of  General 
Custis  Lee.  The  uniform  is  that  of  a  colonel  of  Virginia  militia.  The 
gorget  shown  in  the  picture  is  now  owned  by  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society. 

Artemas  Ward 145 

From  an  engraving  given  me  by  his  great-grandson,  the  late  Henry  Dana 
Artemas  Ward,  of  Middletown,  Connecticut.  Autograph  from  Winsor's 
America. 

Autograph  of  William  Prescott 146 

From  Winsor's  America. 

View  of  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  from  Beacon  Hill  148 

From  the  original  sketch  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection.     It  was  made  on  the 


NOTES    ON    THE    ILLUSTRATIONS  xxxi 

spot  for  Lord  Rawdon,  by  Henry  De  Berniere,  of  the  14th  regiment.     An 
engraving  of  it  was  published  in  the  Analectic  Magazine,  Philadelphia,  1818. 

Battle  of  Bunker  Hill  {coloured  map) facing  150 

Mercy  Warren 152 

From  the  frontispiece  to  Mrs.  Ellet's  Women  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, vol.  i.,  after  the  original  painting  by  Copley.  Autograph  from  a  MS. 
letter,  kindly  lent  by  Hon.  Winslow  Warren. 

The  Washington  Elm 155 

From  a  photograph  taken  in  1863,  kindly  lent  by  my  classmate,  Captain 
Nathan  Appleton,  of  Boston.  Since  this  was  taken,  the  change  in  the  looks 
of  the  spot  has  been  much  greater  than  during  the  two  centuries  before. 

Daniel  Morgan  {photogravure) fac^ng  15^ 

From  a  miniature  by  John  Trumbull,  in  the  Art  Gallery  of  Yale  Univer- 
sity.    Autograph  from  the  Memorial  History  of  Boston. 

Silhouette  of  John  Stark 157 

After  a  silhouette  given  in  Rev.  Albert  Tyler's  Bennington  Centennial 

Celebration,  1877. 

Nathanael  Greene 158 

From  a  miniature  by  John  Trumbull,  now  in  the  possession  of  the  gen- 
eral's great-granddaughter,  Mrs.  Anna  M.  Greene  Carpenter,  of  Warren, 
Rhode  Island,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  kind  permission  to  copy  it. 

Henry  Knox 159 

From  the  original  portrait  by  Gilbert  Stuart,  in  the  Museum  of  Fine  Arts, 
Boston.     Autograph  from  Winsor's  America. 

Washington's  Headquarters  at  Cambridge 161 

From  a  recent  photograph.  This  famous  house,  the  finest  of  the  noble 
colonial  mansions  on  Brattle  Street,  was  built  by  Colonel  John  Vassall,  in 
1759.  Early  in  1775,  Colonel  Vassall  left  it  and  joined  the  British  in  Bos- 
ton ;  his  estate  was  then  confiscated.  General  Washington  occupied  the 
house  from  July,  1775,  until  after  the  capture  of  Boston  in  March,  1776. 

In  later  times  this  house  has  been  the  home  of  the  historian  Jared  Sparks, 
the  orator  Edward  Everett,  and  the  dictionary  maker  Joseph  Worcester.  In 
1837  it  became  the  home  of  the  poet  Longfellow,  and  it  is  now  (1896)  occu- 
pied by  his  eldest  daughter.  The  room  at  the  extreme  right  of  the  picture, 
on  the  first  floor,  was  Washington's  office  and  Longfellow's  study. 

Charles  Lee 162 

From  Murray's  Impartial  History,  T780.  Autograph  from  Moore's 
Treason  of  Major-General  Charles  Lee,  New  York,  i860. 

Autograph  of  Dr.  Benjamin  Church 163 

From  the  Memorial  History  of  Boston. 

View  of  Harvard  College  in  1775 165 

After  a  copper-plate  engraving  by  Paul  Revere,  in  the  possession  of  the 
Essex  Institute,  Salem. 


xxxii  NOTES    ON   THE    ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  King's  Proclamation  of  August,  1775 169 

Reduced  facsimile  of  one  of  the  original  broadsides.,  in  Dr.  Emmet's  col- 
lection. 

The  Burning  of  Falmouth  (Portland) 172,  173 

Reduced  copy  of  an  excessively  quaint  contemporary  sketch,  kindly  lent 
me  by  Dr.  C.  E.  Banks,  U.  S.  Marine  Hospital,  Portland,  Maine. 

Sir  Guy  Carleton 174 

From  the  Political  Magazine,  June,  1782.  Autograph  from  Winsor's 
America. 

Richard  Montgomery 175 

From  the  engraving  in  Longacre  and  Herring's  National  Portrait  Gal- 
lery of  Distinguished  Americans,  Philadelphia,  1834-39,  4  vols.,  after  the 
painting  by  Chappel.  Autograph  from  the  facsimile  of  the  signature  to  his 
will,  in  Winsor's  America. 

John  Hancock's  House  on  Beacon  Hill,  Boston   .    .    .    .179 

After  a  photograph.  This  noble  stone  house  was  built  in  1737,  by  Thomas 
Hancock,  upon  whose  death,  in  1764,  it  became  the  property  of  his  nephew, 
John  Hancock.  In  1859  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  was  urged  to  buy 
and  preserve  it.  This  attempt  unfortunately  failed,  and  in  1863  the  estate 
was  sold  by  the  heirs,  and  the  house  was  presently  pulled  down.  Its  place 
is  now  occupied  by  two  dismal  u  brown-stone  fronts,"  such  as  one  may  see 
anywhere.  Had  it  not  been  for  Mrs.  Mary  Hemenway,  a  similar  act  of  van- 
dalism would  have  destroyed  Boston's  noblest  historic  building,  the  Old 
South  Meeting-House. 

Map  of  Boston,  with  its  Environs,  in  1775  and  1776    .    .  181 

From  Sparks's  Life  of  Washington. 

Medal    granted    to    Washington    for    his     capture    of 
Boston 182,  183 

From  the  Memorial  History  of  Boston.  The  original  gold  medal  is  now 
in  the  Boston  Public  Library. 

Evolution  of  the  United  States  Flag 184 

Thomas  Paine 185 

From  a  miniature  at  Paine  Memorial  Hall,  Boston.  The  painter  is  said 
to  be  "  not  known."  Autograph  from  Appleton's  Cyclopedia  of  American 
Biography. 

A  Page  from  "Common  Sense" 187 

From  the  original  in  the  Library  of  Harvard  University. 

Lord  Dunmore's  Seal  and  Autograph 191 

From  Valentine's  New  York  City  Manual,  1831. 

Independence  Hall,  Philadelphia 193 

From  the  Columbian  Magazine,  July,  1787.  This  building  was  the  old 
State  House  of  Pennsylvania,  built  in  1729-34.  Here  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 


NOTES   ON   THE   ILLUSTRATIONS  xxxiii 

pendence  was  adopted;  and  here,  in  1787,  from  May  to  September,  sat  the 
convention  which  framed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  The  general 
appearance  of  the  neighbourhood  has  changed  almost  beyond  recognition. 

Richard  Henry  Lee 195 

From  his  portrait  by  C.  W.  Peale,  in  Independence  Hall.  Autograph,  by 
kind  permission  of  Dr.  Edmund  Jennings  Lee,  from  his  Lee  of  Virginia. 

Samuel  Chase    198 

From  the  engraving  by  Forrest,  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery,  after 
the  original  painting  by  Jarvis.  Autograph  from  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. 

Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton 199 

From  the  engraving  by  Durand,  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery,  after 
the  original  painting  by  Chester  Harding.  Autograph  from  the  Declaration 
of  Independence. 

The  Declaration  of  Independence  (photogravure)  faci?ig .  200 

From  the  engraving,  by  Durand,  of  the  picture  painted  by  John  Trum- 
bull for  the  rotunda  of  the  Capitol  at  Washington. 

Edward  Rutledge 203 

From  a  club  print  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection,  taken  from  a  family  portrait. 
Autograph  from  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

Thomas  Jefferson  (photogravure) facing  204 

From  the  statue  by  Gait,  in  the  Library  of  the  University  of  Virginia. 
Autograph  from  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

Battery  and  Bowling  Green,  New  York,  in  1776     .     .     .  206 

From  the  Manual  of  the  Common  Council  of  New  York,  1858,  where  a 
full  account  of  Bowling  Green  may  be  found. 

John  Rutledge 209 

From  the  engraving  by  Storm,  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery,  after  the 
original  painting  by  Trumbull.     Autograph  from  the  same  book. 

William  Moultrie 210 

From  the  engraving  in  Moultrie's  own  book,  Memoirs  of  the  American 
Revolution,  New  York,  1802,  2  vols.  Autograph  from  the  signature  to  a 
military  order,  among  the  Tucker  Papers  in  the  Library  of  Harvard  Uni- 
versity. 

Map  of  the  Battle  of  Fort  Moultrie.     .    .    .    .    .     .     .211 

From  Johnson's    Traditions  and  Reminiscences  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution in  the  South,  Charleston,  1851. 

Jonathan  Trumbull 215 

From  the  engraving  by  Mackenzie  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery,  after 
the  original  painting  by  his  son,  John  Trumbull.  Autograph  from  MS. 
collection  in  the  Library  of  Boston  Athenasum. 

View  of  New  York  in  1776 217 

From  a  rare  old  print  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection. 


xxxiv  NOTES    ON   THE   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Battle  of  Long  Island  (coloured  map)     .     .     .     .     .    facing  218 
Bedford  Corners,  Long  Island,  in  1776.  •  . 222 

From  a  rare  old  print  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection. 

Map  of  Manhattan  Island  in  1776 226,  227 

Epitomized  and  greatly  abridged  from  a  large  folding  map  by  H.  P.  John- 
ston, in  Memoirs  of  the  Long  Island  Historical  Society,  vol.  iii. 

Remains  of  Fort  Washington,  New  York,  in  1856    .    .    .  230 

From  a  print  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection. 

Greene's  Headquarters,  Fort  Lee,  New  Jersey  ....  232 

From  a  print  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection. 

Autograph  of  James  Bowdoin 233 

From  Winsor's  America. 

Map  of  Operations  in  New  York  and  New  Jersey  .   236,  237 
George  Washington 240 

After  Durand's  engraving  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery.  The  original 
painting,  by  Trumbull,  is  in  the  Art  Gallery  of  Yale  University. 

Washington  crossing  the  Delaware  (photogravure)  facing  i\i 

From  art  engraving  by  F.  Merckel,  after  the  original  painting  by  Emanuel 
Leutze,  in  the  collection  of  the  late  Marshall  Owen  Roberts,  of  New  York. 

The  United  States  flag  shown  in  the  picture  is,  of  course,  an  anachronism. 
The  stars  and  stripes  were  first  adopted  by  Congress  in  June,  1777  ;  and  any 
flag  carried  by  Washington's  army  in  December,  1776,  would  have  consisted 
of  the  crosses  and  stripes,  as  shown  in  the  illustration  on  page  184. 

Lord  Cornwallis 243 

From  the  London  Magazine,  June,  1781. 

Hugh  Mercer 244 

After  a  pencil  sketch  by  Trumbull.     Autograph   from   Appleton's  Cyclo- 
pcedia  of  American  Biography,  by  permission. 

Beaumarchais 248 

After  a  pastel  by  Perronneau,  reproduced  in  Lintilhac,  Beaumarchais  et 
ses  CEuvres,  Paris,  1887.  Autograph  from  the  MS.  collection  of  Hon.  Mel- 
len  Chamberlain. 

Autograph  of  Silas  Deane 249 

From  Winsor's  America. 

Arthur  Lee 250 

From  his  portrait  by  C.  W.  Peale,  in  Independence  Hall.  Autograph,  by 
kind  permission  of  Dr.  Edmund  Jennings  Lee,  from  his  Lee  of  Virginia. 

Benjamin  Franklin,  at  a  table,  reading 251 

From  an  engraving  in  possession  of  the  late  Dr.  Charles  Deane,  of  Cam- 
bridge, by  kind  permission  of  Mrs.  Deane.  The  engraving  is  a  reissue 
(London,  1824)  of  the  original  engraving  by  Rider,  after  a  painting  by 
Elmer. 


NOTES    ON    THE    ILLUSTRATIONS                 xxxv 
Lafayette 253 

From  a  French  print  made  in  17S1,  now  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  T.  A. 
Emmet.     Autograph  from  Winsor's  America. 

Robert  Morris 255 

From  an  engraving  by  Phillibrown,  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery, 
after  the  painting  by  Chappell.  Autograph  from  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. 

Lord  Cornwallis  {photogravure') facing  256 

After  the  portrait  by  Copley,  in  the  Guildhall,  London.  Autograph  from 
a  MS.  collection  in  the  Library  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum. 

View  of  the  Naval  Battle  of  Valcour  Island    .     .     .    .261 

From  a  rare  old  print  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection. 

Horatio  Gates 265 

From  a  print  in  the  Library  of  Harvard  University.  Autograph  from  a 
MS.  collection  in  Library  of  Boston  Athenaeum. 

Arthur  St.  Clair 267 

From  a  print  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection,  after  a  sketch  by  Trumbull,  in 
the  Art  Gallery  of  Yale  University.  Autograph  from  the  National  Portrait 
Gallery. 

John  Burgoyne 270 

After  the  frontispiece  to  Fonblanque's  Life  of  Burgoyne,  London,  1876. 
The  original,  painted  by  Ramsey,  at  Rome,  in  1750,  is  at  Hampton  Court 
Palace. 

Autograph  of  Burgoyne 271 

From  Winsor's  America. 

Map  of  Burgoyne's  Invasion  of  New  York 273 

Ruins  of  Ticonderoga  in  1818 275 

From  the  Analectic  Magazine,  Philadelphia,  1818. 

Baron  Riedesel 278 

After  the  original  painting  by  Bach,  engraved  as  frontispiece  to  Eelking's 
Leben  und  Wirken  des  Friedrich  Adolph  Riedesel,  Leipzig,  1856,  3  vols. 
Autograph  from  the  same  work. 

William  Phillips 279 

From  a  contemporary  English  folio  mezzotint,  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection  ; 
cf.  Smith's  British  Mezzotinto  Portraits,  vol.  ii.  p.  577.  Autograph  from 
Lossing's  Field-Book. 

Trumbull's  Plan  of  Ticonderoga  and  Mount  Defiance  .  281 

From  Winsor's  America. 

John  Trumbull 283 

From  the  original  painting  by  Gilbert  Stuart,  by  the  kind  permission  of 
Mrs.  William  Forbes  Morgan,  of  New  York,  its  present  owner.  Autograph 
from  a  MS.  collection  in  the  Library  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum. 


xxxvi  NOTES   ON    THE   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Lord  North 286 

From  the  engraving  by  Ridley,  in  the  Letters  of  Junius,  London,  1797. 
The  artist  has  given  the  face  a  quizzical  expression,  which  may  well  have 
been  characteristic  of  the  light-hearted  statesman. 

The  Allies  —  Par  Nobile  Fratrum 289 

From  Wright's  House  of  Hanover,  London,  1842. 

John  Stark  {photogravure) facing  292 

From  a  painting,  after  original  sources,  by  W.  D.  Tenney  (1876),  in  the 
Mayor's  office  at  Manchester,  N.  H.     Autograph  from  Winsor's  America. 

Cannon  captured  at  Bennington 293 

From  a  photograph.  The  cannon  are  preserved  in  the  Library  of  the  Ver- 
mont Historical  Society. 

Barry  St.  Leger 295 

From  a  miniature  by  Cosway,  engraved  in  the  European  Magazine, 
March,  1795. 

Plan  of  Fort  Stanwix 296 

From  Rocque's  Set  of  Plans,  etc.,  in  the  State  Library  of  New  York,  at 
Albany. 

Peter  Gansevoort 297 

From  an  engraving  by  Prud'homme,  in  W.  L.  Stone's  Life  of  Joseph 
Brant,  after  the  original  painting  by  Stuart.  Autograph  from  the  same  book. 

Bas-Relief  on  the  Herkimer  Monument  at  Oriskany  .    .  299 

From  a  photograph. 
Joseph  Brant:  Thayendanegea 301 

After  a  portrait  belonging  to  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  painted  by  George 
Romney. 

MARINUS  WlLLETT • 302 

From  an  engraving  in  the  State  Library  of  New  York,  after  the  original 
portrait  in  the  New  York  City  Hall,  painted  while  Willett  was  mayor  of  the 
city.     Autograph  from  Appleton's  Cyclopedia  of  American  Biography. 

Herkimer's  House  at  Little  Falls 3°3 

From  a  drawing,  made  with  the  aid  of  a  modern  photograph  and  an  old 
print,  so  as  to  reproduce  the  old  look  of  the  house. 

Sir  John  Johnson 3°4 

From  an  engraving  which  Dr.  Emmet  had  copied  from  the  woodcut  in 
Stone's  Campaign  of  Lieutenant-General  John  Burgoyne,  p.  169.  Its  origin 
is  traceable  to  a  large  portrait  in  black  and  white  —  probably  a  crayon  — in 
the  possession  of  Dr.  Mackay,  whose  father,  Colonel  Mackay,  was  a  near 
relative  or  connection  of  Lady  Johnson.  General  J.  Watts  De  Peyster,  a 
grandnephew  of  Lady  Johnson,  is  satisfied  that  it  is  a  correct  likeness  of  the 
baronet.  At  the  same  time  General  De  Peyster  tells  me  that  he  now  enter- 
tains a  suspicion  that  the  portrait  by  Bartolozzi,  prefixed  to  Stone's  Orderly 


NOTES   ON    THE   ILLUSTRATIONS  xxxvii 

Book,  is  really  a  likeness  of  Guy  Johnson,  and  not  of  Sir  John.     The  auto- 
graph is  from  Stone's  Orderly  Book  of  Sir  John  Johnson,  Albany,  1882. 

Philip  Schuyler  {photogravure)     .     . facing  306 

From  the  original  painting  by  Trumbull  (i792)>  bY  the  kind  permission  of 
the  present  owner,  Philip  Schuyler,  Esq.,  of  Irvington-on-Hudson.  Auto- 
graph from  Winsor's  America. 

Old  City  Hall,  in  Wall  Street,  New  York 309 

From  an  old  print  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection. 

Facsimiles  of  Charles  Lee's  Handwriting    ....    312,  313 

Abridged  copy  of  the  facsimiles  in  Moore's  Treason  of  Major-General 
Charles  Lee,  New  York,  i860.  A  comparison  of  the  first  lines  of  Lee's 
letter  to  Gates,  of  Dec.  13,  1776,  with  the  first  lines  of  "  Mr.  Lee's  Plan, 
March  29,  1777,"  is  enough  to  prove  that  the  two  documents  were  written 
by  the  same  person. 

Washington's  Headquarters  at  Chadd's  Ford      .    .    .    .319 

From  the  Miller  collection  of  photographs,  now  owned  by  J.  Howard 
Avil,  of  Philadelphia.  This  picture,  as  well  as  some  of  the  others  taken 
from  the  Miller  collection,  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  solid  style  in  which  the 
best  Pennsylvania  country  houses  were  built  at  the  time. 

Battle  of  the  Brandywine  {coloured  map)  ....   facing  322 
View  of  Brandywine  Battlefield 323 

From  a  rare  old  print  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection. 

Birmingham  Meeting-House 325 

From  the  Miller  collection  of  photographs. 

Battle  of  Germantown  {coloured  map) facing  328 

Judge  Chew's  House  at  Germantown 329 

From  an  old  print  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection. 

A  House  at  Germantown  occupied  by  the  British  .    .    .331 

From  the  Miller  collection. 

The   Whithall   House    at   Fort   Mercer,   where   Donop 

died 332 

From  the  same. 
First  Battle  of  Freeman's  Farm  {coloured  ?nap)     .  facing  334 
Thaddeus  Kosciuszko 336 

After  an  engraving  by  H.  B.  Hall,  for  Irving's  Life  of  Washington.  The 
original  seems  to  be  the  lithographed  portrait  by  Valentin  Slivicki,  in 
Portrety  Wslawionych  Polakow,  Warsaw,  1820.  See  Falkenstein,  Thad- 
ddus  Kosciuszko,  Leipzig,  1827,  p.  292.  Autograph  from  MS.  collection  in 
Library  of  Boston  Athenaeum. 

Second  Battle  of  Freeman's  Farm  {coloured  map)   facing  338 


xxxviii  NOTES   ON   THE    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Simon  Fraser 339 

From  a  contemporary  English  folio  mezzotint  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection ; 
cf.  Smith's  British  Mezzotint o  Portraits,  vol.  iv.  p.  1508.  Autograph  from 
MS.  collection  in  Library  of  Boston  Athenaeum. 

Baroness  Riedesel 341 

After  an  engraving  in  Stone's  Campaign  of  Lieutenant-General  John 
Burgoytie,  from  the  original  painting  by  Tischbein  (with  Colonel  Stone's 
kind  permission).     Autograph  from  the  same  book. 

Surrender  of  Burgoyne  (coloured  mafi) facing  344 

Autograph  of  William  Heath 347 

From  the  Memorial  History  of  Boston. 

Encampment  of  the  Convention  Troops  in  Viringia     .    .  349 

From  a  sketch  by  a  British  officer,  now  in  Dr.  Emmet's  collection. 


( 


o      o    «•  »« 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAPTER   I 

THE    BEGINNINGS 


During  the  seventy  years  which  elapsed  between  the 
overthrow  of  the  Stuart  dynasty  and  the  victory  of  Wolfe 
on  the  Heights  of  Abraham,  the  relations  between  the 
American  colonies  and  the  British  government  were,  on  the 
whole,  peaceful ;  and  the  history  of  the  colonies,  except  for 
the  great  and  romantic  struggle  with  New  France,  would 
have  been  almost  destitute  of  striking  incidents.  In  view  of 
the  perpetual  menace  from  France,  it  was  clearly  unwise  for 
the  British  government  to  irritate  the  colonies,  or  do  any- 
thing to  weaken  their  loyalty ;  and  they  were  accordingly 
left  very  much  to  themselves.  Still,  they  were  not  likely 
to  be  treated  with  any  great  liberality,  —  for  such  was  not 
then,  as  it  is  hardly  even  yet,  the  way  of  governments,  — 
and  if  their  attachment  to  England  still  continued  strong,  it 
was  in  spite  of  the  general  demeanour  of  the  mother-coun- 
try. Since  1675  the  general  supervision  of  the  colonies 
had  been  in  the  hands  of  a  standing  committee  of  the  Privy 
Council,  styled  the  "  Lords  of  the  Committee  of  Trade  and 
Plantations,"  and  familiarly  known  as  the  "  Lords  The  Lords 
of  Trade."  To  this  board  the  governors  sent  fre-  of  Trade 
quent  and  full  reports  of  the  proceedings  in  the  colonial 
legislatures,  of  the  state  of  agriculture  and  trade,  of  the 
revenues  of  the  colonies,  and  of  the  way  in  which  the  pub- 
lic money  was  spent.     In  private  letters,  too,  the  governors 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  i 


poured  fprt.H  their  complaints  into  the  ears  of  the  Lords  of 
Trade,  and  .these  complaints  were  many  and  loud.  Except 
in;  >£eiinsy)vania  aJnd  -Maryland,  which  were  like  hereditary 
monarchies,  and  in  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island,  where 
the  governors  were  elected  by  the  people,  the  colonial  gov- 
ernors were  now  invariably  appointed  by  the  Crown.  In 
most  cases  they  were  inclined  to  take  high  views  regarding 
the  royal  prerogative,  and  in  nearly  all  cases  they  were 
unable  to  understand  the  political  attitude  of  the  colonists, 
who  on  the  one  hand  gloried  in  their  connection  with  Eng- 
land, and  on  the  other  hand,  precisely  because  they  were 
Englishmen,  were  unwilling  to  yield  on  any  occasion  what- 
soever one  jot  or  tittle  of  their  ancient  liberties.  Moreover, 
through  the  ubiquity  of  the  popular  assemblies  and  the 
directness  of  their  control  over  the  administration  of  public 
affairs,  the  political  life  of  America  was  both  really  and 
ostensibly  freer  than  that  of  England  was  at  that  time ;  and 
the  ancient  liberties  of  Englishmen,  if  not  better  preserved, 
were  at  least  more  conspicuously  asserted.  As  a  natural 
consequence,  the  royal  governors  were  continually  trying  to 
do  things  which  the  people  would  not  let  them  do,  they 
were  in  a  chronic  state  of  angry  warfare  with  their  assem- 
blies, and  they  were  incessant  in  their  complaints  to  the 
Lords  of  Trade.  They  represented  the  Americans  as  a  fac- 
tious and  turbulent  people,  with  their  heads  turned  by  queer 
political  crotchets,  unwilling  to  obey  the  laws  and  eager  to 
break  off  their  connection  with  the  British  Empire.  In 
this  way  they  did  much  to  arouse  an  unfriendly  feeling 
toward  the  colonies,  although  eminent  Englishmen  were  not 
wanting  who  understood  American  affairs  too  well  to  let 
their  opinions  be  thus  lightly  influenced.  Upon  the  Lords 
of  Trade  these  misrepresentations  wrought  with  so  much 
effect  that  now  and  then  they  would  send  out  instructions  to 
suspend  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  or  to  abridge  the  freedom 
of  the  press.  Sometimes  their  acts  were  absurdly  arbitrary. 
In  New  Hampshire,  the  people  maintained  that  as  free- 
born  Englishmen  they  had  the  right  to  choose  their  repre- 


1689-1759  THE   BEGINNINGS  3 

sentatives  ;  but  the  governor  held,  on  the  contrary,  that  this 
was  no  right,  but  only  a  privilege,  which  the  Crown  might 
withhold,  or  grant,  or  revoke,  all  at  its  own  good  pleasure. 
To  uphold  the  royal  prerogative,  the  governor  was  instructed 
to  issue  writs  for  elections  to  some  of  the  towns,  while 
withholding  them  from  others ;  but  the  resistance  of  the 
people  to  this  piece  of  tyranny  was  so  determined  that  the 
Lords  of  Trade  thought  it  best  to  yield.  In  Massachusetts, 
for  more  than  thirty  years,  there  went  on  an  unceasing  con- 
troversy between  the  General  Court  and  the  successive 
royal  governors,  Shute,  Burnet,  and  Belcher,  with  reference 
to  the  governor's  salary.  The  Lords  of  Trade  The 
insisted  that  the  governor  should  be  paid  a  fixed  governor's 
salary  ;  but  lest  this  should  make  the  governor  too 
independent,  the  General  Court  obstinately  refused  to  estab- 
lish a  salary,  but  made  grants  to  the  governor  from  year  to 
year,  in  imitation  of  the  time-honoured  usage  of  Parliament. 
This  method  was,  no  doubt,  inconvenient  for  the  govern- 
ors ;  but  the  colonists  rightly  valued  it  as  one  of  the  safe- 
guards of  popular  liberty,  and  to  their  persistent  refusal  the 
Crown  was  obliged  to  give  way.  Similar  controversies,  in 
New  York  and  South  Carolina,  were  attended  with  similar 
results ;  while  in  Virginia  the  assembly  more  than  once 
refused  to  vote  supplies,  on  the  ground  that  the  liberties  of 
the  colony  were  in  danger. 

Such  grievances  as  these,  reported  year  by  year  to  the 
Lords  of  Trade,  and  losing  nothing  in  the  manner  in  which 
they  were  told,  went  far  to  create  in  England  an  opinion 
that  America  was  a  lawless  country,  and  sorely  in  need  of 
a  strong  government.  From  time  to  time  various  schemes 
were  proposed  for  limiting  the  powers  of  the  colonial  assem- 
blies, for  increasing  the  power  of  the  governors,  for  intro- 
ducing a  titled  nobility,  for  taxing  the  colonists  by  act  of 
Parliament,  or  for  weakening  the  feeling  of  local  independ- 
ence by  uniting  several  colonies  into  one.  Until  after  the 
French  troubles  had  been  disposed  of,  little  came  of  any  of 
these  schemes.     A  plan  for  taxing  the  colonies  was  once 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  I 


proposed  to  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  but  the  sagacious  old  states- 
Sir  Robert  man  dismissed  it  with  a  laugh.  "What!"  said 
Walpole  he.  "I  have  half  of  Old  England  set  against  me 
already,  and  do  you  think  I  will  have  all  New  England  like- 


SIR    ROBERT    WALPOLE 


wise  ? "  From  time  to  time  the  liberal  charters  of  Rhode 
Island  and  Connecticut  were  threatened,  but  nothing  came 
of  this.  But  in  one  direction  the  Lords  of  Trade  were  more 
active.  One  of  their  most  cherished  plans  was  to  bring 
about  a  union  of  all  the  colonies  under  a  single  head ;  but 
this  was  not  to  be  a  union  of  the  kind  which  the  Americans, 
with  consummate  statesmanship,  afterward  wrought  out  for 
themselves.  It  was  not  to  be  a  union  based  upon  the  idea 
of  the  sacredness  of  local  self-government,  but  it  was  a 
union  to  be  achieved,  as  far  as  possible,  at  the  expense  of 
local  self-government.     To  bring  all  the  colonies  together 


1752  THE    BEGINNINGS  5 

under  a  single  viceroy  would,  it  was  thought,  diminish  seri- 
ously the  power  of  each  local  assembly,  while  at  the  same 
time  such  a  union  would  no  doubt  make  the  military  strength 
of  the  colonies  much  more  available  in  case  of  war.  In 
1764,  Francis  Bernard,  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  wrote 
that  "to  settle  the  American  governments  to  the  greatest 
possible  advantage,  it  will  be  necessary  to  reduce  the  num- 
ber of  them ;  in  some  places  to  unite  and  consolidate ;  in 
others  to  separate  and  transfer ;  and  in  general  to  divide 
by  natural  boundaries  instead  of 
imaginary  lines.  If  there  should 
be  but  one  form  of  government 
established  for  the  North  Ameri- 
can provinces,  it  would  greatly 
facilitate  the  reformation  of 
them."  As  long  ago  as  1701, 
Robert  Livingston  of  New  York 
had   made  similar  suggestions ; 

and  in  1752,  Dinwiddie  of  Virginia  recommended  that  the 
Northern  and  Southern  colonies  be  united  respectively  into 
two  great  confederacies. 

The  desirableness  of  bringing  about  a  union  of  the  col- 
onies was  also  recognized  by  all  the  most  liberal-minded 
American  statesmen,  though  from  a  very  different  point  of 
view.  They  agreed  with  the  royal  governors  and  with  the 
Lords  of  Trade  as  to  the  .urgent  need  for  concentrating 
the  military  strength  of  the  colonies,  and  they  thought  that 
this  end  could  best  be  subserved  by  some  kind  of  federal 
union.  But  at  the  same  time  they  held  that  the  integrity 
of  the  local  self-government  of  each  colony  was  of  the  first 
importance,  and  that  no  system  of  federation  would  be  prac- 
ticable which  should  in  any  degree  essentially  impair  that 
integrity.  To  bring  about  a  federal  union  on  such  terms 
was  no  easy  matter ;  it  was  a  task  fitted  to  tax  the  greatest 
of  statesmen  at  any  time.  At  that  time  it  was  undoubtedly 
a  hopeless  task.  The  need  for  union  was  not  generally 
felt  by  the  people.     The  sympathies  between  the  different 


6  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  i 

colonies  were  weak  and  liable  to  be  overborne  by  prejudices 
Weakness  arising  from  rivalry  or  from  differences  in  social 
sentiment  structure.  To  the  merchant  of  Boston,  the  Vir- 
of  union  ginian  planter  was  still  almost  a  foreigner,  though 
both  the  one  and  the  other  were  pure-blooded  Englishmen. 
Commercial  jealousies  were  very  keen.  Disputes  about 
boundaries  were  not  uncommon.  In  1756,  Georgia  and 
South  Carolina  actually  came  to  blows  over  the  navigation 
of  the  Savannah  river.  Jeremiah  Dummer,  in  his  famous 
"  Defence  of  the  New  England  Charters,"  said  that  it  was 
impossible  that  the  colonies  should  ever  be  brought  to  unite  ; 
and  Burnaby  thought  that  if  the  hand  of  Great  Britain  were 
once  taken  off,  there  would  be  chronic  civil  war  all  the  way 
from  Maine  to  Georgia. 

In  1754,  the  prospect  of  immediate  war  with  the  French 
led  several  of  the  royal  governors  to  call  for  a  congress  of  $ 

all  the  colonies,  to  be  held  at  Albany.  The  pri- 
Aibany  mary  purpose  of  the  meeting  was  to  make  sure  of 
the  friendship  of  the  Six  Nations,  and  to  organize 
a  general  scheme  of  operations  against  the  French.  The 
secondary  purpose  was  to  prepare  some  plan  of  confedera- 
tion which  all  the  colonies  might  be  persuaded  to  adopt. 
New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecti- 
cut, New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland  —  only  seven 
colonies  of  the  thirteen  —  sent  commissioners  to  this  con- 
gress.    The  people  showed  little  interest  in  the  movement. 

It  does  not  appear  that  any  public 
meetings  were  held  in  favour  of  it. 
Among  the  newspapers,  the  only 
one  which  warmly  approved  of  it 
seems  to  have  been  the  "  Pennsyl- 
vania Gazette,"  edited  by  Ben- 
jamin Franklin,  which  appeared 
with  a  union  device  and  the  motto  "  Unite  or  Die  !  " 

The  circumstances  of  Franklin's  life,  no  less  than  the  wide 
sweep  of  his  intelligence,  had  fitted  him  for  sounder  views 
of  the  political  needs  of  the  time  than  were  taken  by  most 


UNITE     OR     DIE 


1754 


THE    BEGINNINGS 


of  his  contemporaries.  As  a  native  of  Massachusetts  who 
dwelt  in  Pennsylvania,  he  may  be  said  to  have  belonged  to 
two  very  different  colonies  ;  and  he  had  spent  time  enough 
in  London  to  become  well  acquainted  with  British  ideas. 
During  the  session  of  the  Albany  Congress,  a  first  attempt 
was  made  to  establish  a  permanent  union  of  the  thirteen 
colonies.  It  was  to  Franklin  that  the  plan  was  Franklin,s 
chiefly  due.     The  legislative  assembly  of  each  col-  plan  of 

*  ^i  union,  1754 

ony  was  to  choose,  once  m  three  years,  represen- 
tatives to  attend  a  federal  Grand  Council ;  which  was  to 
meet  every  year  at  Philadelphia,  a  town  which  could  be 
reached  by  a  twenty  days'  journey  either  from  South  Caro- 
lina or  from  New  Hampshire.  This  Grand  Council  was  to 
choose  its  own  speaker,  and  could  neither  be  dissolved  nor 
prorogued,  nor  kept  sitting  longer  than  six  weeks  at  any  one 
time,  except  by  its  own  consent  or  by  especial  order  of  the 
Crown.  The  Grand  Council  was  to  make  treaties  with  the 
Indians  and  to  regulate  the  Indian  trade  ;  and  it  was  to  have 
sole  power  of  legislation  on  all  matters  concerning  the  col- 
onies as  a  whole.  To  these  ends,  it  could  levy  taxes,  enlist 
soldiers,  build  forts,  and  nominate  all  civil  officers.  Its  laws 
were  to  be  submitted  to  the  king  for  approval,  and  the  royal 
veto,  in  order  to  be  of  effect,  must  be  exercised  within  three 
years. 

To  this  Grand  Council  each  colony  was  to  send  a  number 
of  representatives,  proportioned  to  its  contributions  to  the 
continental  military  service  ;  yet  no  colony  was  to  send  less 
than  two  or  more  than  seven  representatives.  With  the 
exception  of  such  matters  of  general  concern  as  were  to  be 
managed  by  the  Grand  Council,  each  colony  was  to  retain 
its  powers  of  legislation  intact.  On  an  emergency,  any 
colony  might  singly  defend  itself  against  foreign  attack,  and 
the  federal  government  was  prohibited  from  impressing  sol- 
diers or  seamen  without  the  consent  of  the  local  legislature. 

The  supreme  executive  power  was  to  be  vested  in  a  presi- 
dent or  governor-general,  appointed  and  paid  by  the  Crown. 
He  was   to  nominate  all   military  officers,   subject  to  the 


8  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  i 

approval  of  the  Grand  Council,  and  was  to  have  a  veto  on 
all  the  acts  of  the  Grand  Council.  No  money  could  be 
issued  save  by  joint  order  of  the  governor-general  and  the 
council. 

This  plan,  said  Franklin,  "  is  not  altogether  to  my  mind, 
but  it  is  as  I  could  get  it."  It  should  be  observed,  to  the 
credit  of  its  author,  that  this  scheme,  long  afterward  known 
as  the  "  Albany  Plan,"  contemplated  the  formation  of  a  self- 
sustaining  federal  government,  and  not  of  a  mere  league. 
As  Frothingham  well  says,  "  It  designed  to  confer  on  the 
representatives  of  the  people  the  power  of  making  laws 
acting  directly  on  individuals,  and  appointing  officers  to  exe- 
cute them,  and  yet  not  to  interfere  with  the  execution  of  the 
laws  operating  on  the  same  individuals  by  the  local  officers." 
It  would  have  erected  "  a  public  authority  as  obligatory  in  its 
sphere  as  the  local  governments  were  in  their  spheres."  In 
this  respect  it  was  much  more  complete  than  the  scheme  of 
confederation  agreed  on  in  Congress  in  1777,  and  it  afforded 
a  valuable  precedent  for  the  more  elaborate  and  perfect 
Federal  Constitution  of  1787.  It  was  in  its  main  features 
a  noble  scheme,  and  the  great  statesman  who  devised  it 
was  already  looking  forward  to  the  immense  growth  of  the 
American  Union,  though  he  had  not  yet  foreseen  the  sepa- 
ration of  the  colonies  from  the  mother-country.  In  less  than 
a  century,  he  said,  the  great  country  behind  the  Allegha- 
nies  must  become  "  a  populous  and  powerful  dominion ;  " 
and  he  recommended  that  two  new  colonies  should  at  once 
be  founded  in  the  West,  — the  one  on  Lake  Erie,  the  other 
in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  —  with  free  chartered  govern- 
ments like  those  of  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut. 

But  public  opinion  was  not  yet  ripe  for  the  adoption  of 
Franklin's  bold  and  comprehensive  ideas.  Of  the  royal 
governors  who  were  anxious  to  see  the  colonies  united  on 
any  terms,  none  opposed  the  plan  except  Delancey  of  New 
York,  who  wished  to  reserve  to  the  governors  a  veto  upon 
all  elections  of  representatives  to  the  Grand  Council.  To 
this  it  was  rightly  objected  that  such  a  veto  power  would 


1754  THE    BEGINNINGS  9 

virtually  destroy  the  freedom  of  elections,  and  make  the 
Grand  Council  an  assembly  of  creatures  of  the  Re;ection 
governors.  On  the  popular  side  the  objections  of  the  plan 
were  many.  The  New  England  delegates,  on  the  whole, 
were  the  least  disinclined  to  union ;  yet  Connecticut  urged 
that  the  veto  power  of  the  governor-general  might  prove 
ruinous  to  the  whole  scheme ;  that  the  concentration  of  all 
the  military  forces  in  his  hands  would  be  fraught  with  dan- 
gers to  liberty ;  and  that  even  the  power  of  taxation,  lodged 
in  the  hands  of  an  assembly  so  remote  from  local  interests, 
was  hardly  compatible  with  the  preservation  of  the  ancient 
rights  of  Englishmen.  After  long  debate,  the  assembly  at 
Albany  decided  to  adopt  Franklin's  plan,  and  copies  of  it 
were  sent  to  all  the  colonies  for  their  consideration.  But 
nowhere  did  it  meet  with  approval.  The  mere  fact  that  the 
royal  governors  were  all  in  favour  of  it  —  though  their  advo- 
cacy was  at  present,  no  doubt,  determined  mainly  by  sound 
military  reasons  —  was  quite  enough  to  create  an  insuper- 
able prejudice  against  it  on  the  part  of  the  people.  The 
Massachusetts  legislature  seems  to  have  been  the  only  one 
which  gave  it  a  respectful  consideration,  albeit  a  large  town 
meeting  in  Boston  denounced  it  as  subversive  of  liberty. 
Pennsylvania  rejected  it  without  a  word  of  discussion.  None 
of  the  assemblies  favoured  it.  On  the  other  hand,  when 
sent  over  to  England  to  be  inspected  by  the  Lords  of  Trade, 
it  only  irritated  and  disgusted  them.  As  they  truly  said,  it 
was  a  scheme  of  union  "  complete  in  itself  ;  "  and  ever  since 
the  days  of  the  New  England  confederacy  the  Crown  had 
looked  with  extreme  jealousy  upon  all  attempts  at  concerted 
action  among  the  colonies  which  did  not  originate  with 
itself.  Besides  this,  the  Lords  of  Trade  were  now  consider- 
ing a  plan  of  their  own  for  remodelling  the  governments  of 
the  colonies,  establishing  a  standing  army,  enforcing  the 
navigation  acts,  and  levying  taxes  by  authority  of  Parlia- 
ment. Accordingly  little  heed  was  paid  to  Franklin's  ideas. 
Though  the  royal  governors  had  approved  the  Albany  plan, 
in  default  of  any  scheme  of  union  more  to  their  minds,  they 


IO 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  I 


had  no  real  sympathy  with  it.     In    1756,  Shirley  wrote  to 
the  Lords  of  Trade,  urging  upon  them  the  paramount  neces- 
sity for  a  union  of  the  American  colonies,  in  order 

Shirley  rec-  ' 

ommends  a  to  withstand  the  French ;  while  at  the  same  time 
ampa<  ^e  disparaged  Franklin's  scheme,  as  containing 
principles  of  government  unfit  even  for  a  single  colony  like 
Rhode  Island,  and  much  more  unfit  for  a  great  American 
confederacy.     The  union,  he  urged,  should  be  effected  by 


act  of  Parliament,  and  by  the  same  authority  a  general  fund 
should  be  raised  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  war,  —  an  end 
which  Shirley  thought  might  be  most  speedily  and  quietly 
attained  by  means  of  a  "stamp  duty."  As  Shirley  had 
been  for  fifteen  years  governor  of  Massachusetts,  and  was 
now  commander-in-chief  of  all  the  troops  in  America,  his 
opinion  had  great  weight  with  the  Lords  of  Trade ;  and 
the  same  views  being  reiterated  by  Dinwiddie  of  Virginia, 
Sharpe  of  Maryland,  Hardy  of  New  York,  and  other  gov- 


i76i  THE   BEGINNINGS  n 

ernors,  the  notion  that  Parliament  must  tax  the  Americans 
became  deeply  rooted  in  the  British  official  mind. 

Nothing  was  done,  however,  until  the  work  of  the  French 
war  had  been  accomplished.  In  1761,  it  was  decided  to 
enforce  the  Navigation  Act,  and  one  of  the  revenue  officers 
at  Boston  applied  to  the  superior  court  for  a  "  writ  Writs  o£ 
of  assistance,"  or  general  search-warrant,  to  enable  assistance 
him  to  enter  private  houses  and  search  for  smuggled  goods, 
but  without  specifying  either  houses  or  goods.  Such  general 
warrants  had  been  allowed  by  a  statute  of  the  bad  reign  of 
Charles  II.,  and  a  statute  of  William  III.,  in  general  terms, 
had  granted  to  revenue  officers  in  America  like  powers  to 
those  they  possessed  in  England.  But  James  Otis  showed 
that  the  issue  of  such  writs  was  contrary  to  the  whole  spirit 
of  the  British  constitution.  To  issue  such  universal  war- 
rants allowing  the  menials  of  the  custom  house,  on  mere 
suspicion,  and  perhaps  from  motives  of  personal  enmity,  to 
invade  the  home  of  any  citizen,  without  being  held  responsi- 
ble for  any  rudeness  they  might  commit  there,  —  such,  he 
said,  was  "  a  kind  of  power,  the  exercise  of  which  cost  one 
king  of  England  his  head  and  another  his  throne ; "  and  he 
plainly  declared  that  even  an  act  of  Parliament  which  should 
sanction  so  gross  an  infringement  of  the  immemorial  rights 
of  Englishmen  would  be  treated  as  null  and  void.  Chief 
Justice  Hutchinson  granted  the  writs  of  assistance,  and  as 
an  interpreter  of  the  law  he  was  doubtless  right  in  so  doing  ; 
^ut  Otis's  argument  suggested  the  question  whether  Ameri- 
cans were  bound  to  obey  laws  which  they  had  no  share^in 
making,  and  his  passionate  eloquence  made  so  great  an  im- 
pression upon  the  people  that  this  scene  in  the  court  room 
has  been  since  remembered  —  and  not  unjustly  —  as  the 
opening  scene  of  the  American  Revolution. 

In  the  same  year  the  arbitrary  temper  of  the  government 
was  exhibited  in  New  York.     Down  to  this  time 
the  chief  justice  of  the  colony  had  held  office  only   justice  of 
during   good   behaviour,   and   had   been   liable   to 
dismissal  at  the  hands  of  the  colonial  assembly.     The  chief 


' 


12 


THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.   I, 


justice  was  now  made  removable  only  by  the  Crown,  a  meas- 
ure which  struck  directly  at  the  independent  administration 
of  justice  in  the  colony.  The  assembly  tried  to  protect 
itself  by  refusing  to  assign  a  fixed  salary  to  the  chief  jus- 
tice, whereupon  the  king  ordered  that  the  salary  should  be 


1763  THE   BEGINNINGS  13 

paid  out  of  the  quit-rents  for  the  public  lands.  At  the 
same  time  instructions  were  sent  to  all  the  royal  governors 
to  grant  no  judicial  commissions  for  any  other  period  than 
"during  the  king's  pleasure;"  and  to  show  that  this  was 
meant  in  earnest,  the  governor  of  New  Jersey  was  next  year 
peremptorily  dismissed  for  commissioning  a  judge  "during 
good  behaviour." 

In  1762,  a  question  distinctly  involving  the  right  of  the 
people  to  control  the  expenditure  of  their  own  money  came 
up  in  Massachusetts.  Governor  Bernard,  without  authority 
from  the  assembly,  had  sent  a  couple  of  ships  to  the  north- 
ward, to  protect  the  fisheries  against  French  privateers,  and 
an  expense  of  some  ^400  had  been  thus  incurred.  The 
assembly  was  now  ordered  to  pay  this  sum,  but  it  refused  to 
do  so.  "  It  would  be  of  little  consequence  to  the  , 
people,"  said  Otis,  in  the  debate  on  the  question,    "Vindica- 

,      \  ,  •  ^  t  tion" 

"  whether  they  were  subject  to  George  or  Louis, 
the  king  of  Great  Britain  or  the  French  king,  if  both  were 
arbitrary,  as  both  would  be,  if  both  could  levy  taxes  without 
Parliament."  A  cry  of  "Treason!"  from  one  of  the  less 
clear-headed  members  greeted  this  bold  statement ;  and 
Otis,  being  afterward  taken  to  task  for  his  language,  pub- 
lished a  "Vindication,"  in  which  he  maintained  that  the 
rights  of  a  colonial  assembly,  as  regarded  the  expenditure 
of  public  money,  were  as  sacred  as  the  rights  of  the  House 
of  Commons. 

In  April,  1763,  just  three  years  after  the  accession  of 
George  III.,  George  Grenville  became  Prime  Minister  of 
England,  while  at  the  same  time  Charles  Townshend  was 
First  Lord  of  Trade.  Townshend  had  paid  considerable 
attention  to  American  affairs,  and  was  supposed  to  know 
more  about  them  than  any  other  man  in  England.  But  his 
studies  had  led  him  to  the  conclusion  that  the  colonies  ought 
to  be  deprived  of  their  self-government,  and  that  a  standing 
army  ought  to  be  maintained  in  America  by  means  of  taxes 
arbitrarily  assessed  upon  the  people  by  Parliament.  Gren- 
ville was  far  from  approving  of  such  extreme  measures  as 


14 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  I 


these,  but  he  thought  that  a  tax  ought  to  be  imposed  upon 
Expenses  the  colonies,  in  order  to  help  defray  the  expenses 
of  the  French  war.  Yet  in  point  of  fact,  as  Frank- 
lin truly  said,  the  colonies  had  "raised,  paid,  and 
clothed   nearly  twenty-five  thousand  men  during  the  last 


of  the 

French 

war 


** 


&WJ-  Itm^urvuLy 


war, — a  number  equal  to  those  sent  from  Great  Britain, 
and  far  beyond  their  proportion.  They  went  deeply  into 
debt  in  doing  this ;  and  all  their  estates  and  taxes  are  mort- 
gaged for  many  years  to  come  for  discharging  that  debt." 
That  the  colonies  had  contributed  more  than  an  equitable 
share  toward  the  expenses  of  the  war,  that  their  contribu- 
tions had  even  been  in  excess  of   their  ability,  had  been 


1764  THE   BEGINNINGS  15 

freely  acknowledged  by  Parliament,  which,  on  several  occa- 
sions between  1756  and  1763,  had  voted  large  sums  to  be 
paid  over  to  the  colonies,  in  partial  compensation  for  their 
excessive  outlay.  Parliament  was  therefore  clearly  estopped 
from  making  the  defrayal  of  the  war  debt  the  occasion  for 
imposing  upon  the  colonies  a  tax  of  a  new  and  strange  char- 
acter, and  under  circumstances  which  made  the  payment  of 
such  a  tax  seem  equivalent  to  a  surrender  of  their  rights  as 
free  English  communities.  In  March,  1764,  Gren-  Grenviiie's 
ville  introduced  in  the  House  of  Commons  a  series  Resolves 
of  Declaratory  Resolves,  announcing  the  intention  of  the 
government  to  raise  a  revenue  in  America  by  requiring  vari- 
ous commercial  and  legal  documents,  newspapers,  etc.,  to 
bear  stamps,  varying  in  price  from  threepence  to  ten  pounds. 
A  year  was  to  elapse,  however,  before  these  resolutions 
should  take  effect  in  a  formal  enactment. 

It  marks  the  inferiority  of  the  mother-country  to.  the 
colonies  in  political  development,  at  that  time,  that  the  only 
solicitude  as  yet  entertained  by  the  British  official  mind, 
with  regard  to  this  measure,  seems  to  have  been  concerned 
with  the  question  how  far  the  Americans  would  be  willing 
to  part  with  their  money.  With  the  Americans  it  was  as  far 
as  possible  from  being  a  question  of  pounds,  shillings,  and 
pence ;  but  this  was  by  no  means  correctly  understood  in 
England.  The  good  Shirley,  although  he  had  lived  so  long 
in  Massachusetts,  had  thought  that  a  revenue  might  be  most 
easily  and  quietly  raised  by  means  of  a  stamp  duty.  Of  all 
kinds  of  direct  tax,  none,  perhaps,  is  less  annoying.  But 
the  position  taken  by  the  Americans  had  little  to  do  with 
mere  convenience ;  it  rested  from  the  outset  upon  the  deep- 
est foundations  of  political  justice,  and  from  this  foothold 
neither  threatening  nor  coaxing  could  stir  it. 

The  first  deliberate  action  with  reference  to  the  proposed 
Stamp  Act  was  taken  in  the  Boston  town  meeting  in  May, 
1764.  In  this  memorable  town  meeting  Samuel  Adams 
drew  up  a  series  of  resolutions,  which  contained  the  first  for- 
mal and  public  denial  of  the  right  of  Parliament  to  tax  the 


i6 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP. 


colonies  without  their  consent ;  and  while  these  resolutions 
were  adopted  by  the  Massachusetts  assembly,  a  circular 
letter  was  at  the  same  time  sent  to  all  the  other  colonies, 
„    ,     ,      setting:  forth  the  need  for  concerted  and  harmo- 

Reply  of  ° 

the  coio-  nious  action  in  respect  of  so  grave  a  matter.  In 
response,  the  assemblies  of  Connecticut,  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and  South  Carolina  joined  with 
Massachusetts  in  remonstrating  against  the  proposed  Stamp 
Act.  All  these  memorials  were  remarkable  for  clearness  of 
argument  and  simple  dignity  of  language.  They  all  took 
their  stand  on  the  principle  that,  as  free-born  Englishmen, 
they  could  not  rightfully  be  taxed  by  the  House  of  Com- 
mons unless  they  were  represented 
in  that  body.  But  the  proviso  was 
added,  that  if  a  letter  from  the  secre- 
tary of  state,  coming  in  the  king's 
name,  should  be  presented  to  the  colo- 
nial assemblies,  asking  them  to  con- 
tribute something  from  their  general 
resources  to  the  needs  of  the  British 
Empire,  they  would  cheerfully,  as 
heretofore,  grant  liberal  sums  of 
money,  in  token  of  their  loyalty  and 
of  their  interest  in  all .  that  con- 
cerned the  welfare  of  the  mighty  empire  to  which  they  be- 
longed. These  able  and  temperate  memorials  were  sent  to 
England ;  and  in  order  to  reinforce  them  by  personal  tact 
and  address,  Franklin  went  over  to  London  as  agent  for  the 
colony  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  alternative  proposed  by  the  colonies  was  virtually  the 
same  as  the  system  of  requisitions  already  in  use,  and  the 
inefficiency  of  which,  in  securing  a  revenue,  had  been  abun- 
dantly proved  by  the  French  war.  Parliament  therefore 
The  stamp  rejected  it,  and  early  in  1765  the  Stamp  Act  was 
Act  passed.     It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  idea  that 

the  Americans  would  resist  its  execution  did  not  at  once 
occur  to  Franklin.     Acquiescence  seemed  to  him,   for  the 


A    STAMP 


765 


THE    BEGINNINGS 


17 


present,  the  only  safe  policy.  In  writing  to  his  friend  Charles 
Thomson,  he  said  that  he  could  no  more  have  hindered  the 
passing  of  the  Stamp  Act  than  he  could  have  hindered  the 
sun's  setting.  "That,"  he 
says,  "we  could  not  do.  But 
since  it  is  down,  my  friend, 
and  it  may  be  long  before  it 
rises  again,  let  us  make  as 
good  a  night  of  it  as  we  can. 
We  may  still  light  candles. 
Frugality  and  industry  will 
go  a  great  way  towards  in- 
demnifying us."  But  Thom- 
son, in  his  answer,  with  truer 
foresight,  observed,  "  I  much 
fear,  instead  of  the  candles 
you  mentioned  being  lighted, 
you  will  hear  of  the  works  of 
darkness  !  "  The  news  of  the 
passage  of  the  Stamp  Act 
was  greeted  in  America  with 

a  burst  of  indignation.  In  New  York,  the  act  was  reprinted 
with  a  death's-head  upon  it  in  place  of  the  royal  arms,  and 
it  was  hawked  about  the  streets  under  the  title  of  "The 
Folly  of  England  and  the  Ruin  of  America."  In  Boston, 
the  church-bells  were  tolled,  and  the  flags  on  the  shipping 
put  at  half-mast. 

But  formal  defiance  came  first  from  Virginia, 
and  a  half  before,  a  famous  lawsuit,  known  as  the 
"Parsons'  Cause,"  had  brought  into  public  notice 
a  young  man  who  was  destined  to  take  high  rank 
among  modern  orators.  The  lawsuit  which  made  Patrick 
Henry's  reputation  was  one  of  the  straws  which  showed  how 
the  stream  of  tendency  in  America  was  then  strongly  set- 
ting toward  independence.  Tobacco  had  not  yet  ceased  to 
be  a  legal  currency  in  Virginia,  and  by  virtue  of  an  old  stat- 
ute each  clergyman  of  the  Established  Church  was  entitled 


&7yHV*ts 


year 


The  Par- 
sons' 
Cause 


i8 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  I 


to  sixteen  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco  as  his  yearly  salary. 
In  1755  and  1758,  under  the  severe  pressure  of  the  French 
war,  the  assembly  had  passed  relief  acts,  allowing  all  public 
dues,  including  the  salaries  of  the  clergy,  to  be  paid  either 
in  kind  or  in  money,  at  a  fixed  rate  of  twopence  for  a  pound 
of  tobacco.  The  policy  of  these  acts  was  thoroughly  un- 
sound, as  they  involved  a  partial  repudiation  of  debts ;  but 
the  extreme  distress  of  the  com- 
munity was  pleaded  in  excuse,  and 
every  one,  clergy  as  well  as  laymen, 
at  first  acquiesced  in  them.  But 
in  1759  tobacco  was  worth  sixpence 
per  pound,  and  the  clergy  be- 
came dissatisfied.  Their  complaints 
reached  the  ears  of  Sherlock,  the 
Bishop  of  London,  and  the  act  of 
1758  was  summarily  vetoed  by  the 
king  in  council.  The  clergy  brought 
suits  to  recover  the  unpaid  portions 
of  their  salaries ;  in  the  test  case  of 
Rev.  James  Maury,  the  court  de- 
cided the  point  of  the  law  in  their 
favour,  on  the  ground  of  the  royal 
veto,  and  nothing  remained  but  to 
settle  before  a  jury  the  amount  of 
the  damages.  On  this  occasion, 
Henry  appeared  for  the  first  time 
in  court,  and  after  a  few  timid  and 
awkward  sentences  burst  forth  with 
an  eloquent  speech,  in  which  he  asserted  the  indefeasible 
right  of  Virginia  to  make  laws  for  herself,  and  declared  that 
in  annulling  a  salutary  ordinance  at  the  request  of  a  favoured 
class  in  the  community  "a  king,  from  being  the  father  of 
his  people,  degenerates  into  a  tyrant,  and  forfeits  all  right 
to  obedience."  Cries  of  "  Treason  !  "  were  heard  in  the  court 
room,  but  the  jury  immediately  returned  a  verdict  of  one 
penny  in  damages,  and  Henry  became  the  popular  idol  of 


SPEAKER'S   CHAIR,   HOUSE    OF 
BURGESSES 


1 76s 


THE   BEGINNINGS 


J9 


PATRICK   HENRY   MAKING   HIS   TARQUIN   AND   CAESAR   SPEECH 


Virginia.  The  clergy  tried  in  vain  to  have  him  indicted  for 
treason,  alleging  that  his  crime  was  hardly  less  heinous  than 
that  which  had  brought  old  Lord  Lovat  to  the  block.  But 
the  people  of  Louisa  county  replied,  in  1765,  by  choosing 
him  to  represent  them  in  the  colonial  assembly. 

Hardly  had  Henry  taken  his  seat  in  the  assembly  when 
the  news  of  the  Stamp  Act  arrived.     In  a  committee  of  the 


20  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  i 

whole  house,  he  drew  up  a  series  of  resolutions,  declaring 
„    . ,         that  the  colonists  were  entitled  to  all  the  liberties 

Patrick 

Henry's  and  privileges  of  natural-born  subjects,  and  that 
"  the  taxation  of  the  people  by  themselves,  or  by- 
persons  chosen  by  themselves  to  represent  them,  ...  is 
the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  British  freedom,  with- 
out which  the  ancient  constitution  cannot  exist."  It  was 
further  declared  that  any  attempt  to  vest  the  power  of 
taxation  in  any  other  body  than  the  colonial  assembly  was 
a  menace  to  British  no  less  than  to  American  freedom ;  that 
the  people  of  Virginia  were  not  bound  to  obey  any  law 
enacted  in  disregard  of  these  fundamental  principles  ;  and 
that  any  one  who  should  maintain  the  contrary  should  be 
regarded  as  a  public  enemy.  It  was  in  the  lively  debate 
which  ensued  upon  these  resolutions,  that  Henry  uttered 
those  memorable  words  commending  the  example  of  Tar- 
quin  and  Caesar  and  Charles  I.  to  the  attention  of  George  III. 
Before  the  vote  had  been  taken  upon  all  the  resolutions, 
Governor  Fauquier  dissolved  the  assembly ;  but  the  reso- 
lutions were  printed  in  the  newspapers,  and  hailed  with 
approval  all  over  the  country. 

Meanwhile,  the  Massachusetts  legislature,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  Otis,  had  issued  a  circular  letter  to  all  the  colonies, 
calling  for  a  general  congress,  in  order  to  concert 
Act  Con-  measures  of  resistance  to  the  Stamp  Act.  The 
first  cordial  response  came  from  South  Carolina, 
at  the  instance  of  Christopher  Gadsden,  a  wealthy  merchant 
of  Charleston  and  a  scholar  learned  in  Oriental  languages,  a 
man  of  rare  sagacity  and  most  liberal  spirit.  On  the  7th  of 
October,  the  proposed  congress  assembled  at  New  York, 
comprising  delegates  from  Massachusetts,  South  Carolina, 
Pennsylvania,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Delaware,  Mary- 
land, New  Jersey,  and  New  York,  in  all  nine  colonies,  which 
are  here  mentioned  in  the  order  of  the  dates  at  which  they 
chose  their  delegates.  In  Virginia,  the  governor  succeeded 
in  preventing  the  meeting  of  the  legislature,  so  that  this 
great  colony  did  not  send  delegates  ;  and;  for  various  reasons, 


1765  THE   BEGINNINGS  21 

STAMP-OFFICE, 
Lincoln's- Inn,  1765. 


TABLE 

Of  the  Prices  of  Parchment  and  Paper  for  the  Service 
of  America, 

Parchment.  Paper. 

Skins  1 8  Inch,  by  13,  at  Four  pence  ^  Horn  zt  Seven-pence  "I 

22  —  by  16,  at  Six-pence  /  Fools  Cap  at  Nine-pence 

26  — —  by  20,  at  Eight-pence  Veach.  D°  with  printed  Notices!  at   ! 

28 ——by  23,  at  Ten-pence  V  for  Indentures  J  is. 


3 \ by  26,  atThirtcen-pence J  Folio  Port  at  One  Shilling     >  each  O^re. 

Demy at  Two  Shillings    J 

Medium     at  Three  Shillings  J 

Royal at  Four  Shillings    | 

Super  Royal  at  Six  Shillings  j 


Paper  for  Printing 

News.  Almanacks 

Double  Crown  at  14  s.  1       ,   „  Book — Crown  Paper  at  ios.6d. 

Double  Demy  at  10  s.  ]  Cach  Rcam*  Book Fools  Cap  at  6s.  6d. 

Pocket  — Folio  P  " 
Sheet Demy 


atios.6d.p 
1  at  6s.  6d.f  e, 
I  at  20  a.    C  ' 
at  13  s.     ^ 


,.  each  Ream. 
Pocket  — Folio  Poll  i 


New  Hampshire,  North  Carolina,  and  Georgia  were  likewise 
unrepresented  at  the  congress.  But  the  sentiment  of  all 
the  thirteen  colonies  was  none  the  less  unanimous,  and 
those  which  did  not  attend  lost  no  time  in  declaring  their 
full  concurrence  with  what  was  done  at  New  York.  At 
this  memorable  meeting,  held  under  the  very  guns  of  the 
British  fleet  and  hard  by  the  headquarters  of  General  Gage, 
the  commander-in-chief  of  the  regular  forces  in  America,  a 
series    of   resolutions  were  adopted,   echoing  the  spirit  of 


22  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 

Patrick  Henry's  resolves,  though  couched  in  language  some- 
what more  conciliatory,  and  memorials  were  addressed  to  the 
king  and  to  both  Houses  of  Parliament.  Of  all  the  dele- 
gates present,  Gadsden  took  the  broadest  ground,  in  behalf 
both  of  liberty  and  of  united  action  among  the  colonies.  He 
objected  to  sending  petitions  to  Parliament,  lest  thereby  its 
paramount  authority  should  implicitly  and  unwittingly  be 
acknowledged.  "  A  confirmation  of  our  essential  and  com- 
mon rights  as  Englishmen,"  said  he,  "may  be  pleaded  from 
charters  safely  enough ;  but  any  further  dependence  on 
them  may  be  fatal.  We  should  stand  upon  the  broad 
common  ground  of  those  natural  rights  that  we  all  feel  and 
know  as  men  and  as  descendants  of  Englishmen.  I  wish 
the  charters  may  not  ensnare  us  at  last,  by  drawing  different 
colonies  to  act  differently  in  this  great  cause.  Whenever 
that  is  the  case,  all  will  be  over  with  the  whole.  There 
ought  to  be  no  New  England  man,  no  New  Yorker,  known 
on  the  continent ;  but  all  of  us  Americans."  So  thought 
and  said  this  broad-minded  South  Carolinian. 

While  these  things  were  going  on  at  New  York,  the 
Dedara-  Massachusetts  assembly,  under  the  lead  of  Samuel 
tionof  the    Adams,  who  had  just  taken  his  seat  in  it,  drew  up 

Massachu-  J  '  r 

setts assem-  a  very  able  state  paper,  in  which  it  was  declared, 
among  other  things,  that  "the -Stamp  Act  wholly 
cancels  the  very  conditions  upon  which  our  ancestors,  with 
much  toil  and  blood  and  at  their  sole  expense,  settled  this 
country  and  enlarged  his  majesty's  dominions.  It  tends  to 
destroy  that  mutual  confidence  and  affection,  as  well  as  that 
equality,  which  ought  ever  to  subsist  among  all  his  ma- 
jesty's subjects  in  this  wide  and  extended  empire ;  and  what 
is  the  worst  of  all  evils,  if  his  majesty's  American  subjects 
are  not  to  be  governed  according  to  the  known  and  stated 
rules  of  the  constitution,  their  minds  may  in  time  become 
disaffected."  This  moderate  and  dignified  statement  was 
applauded  by  many  in  England  and  by  others  derided  as 
the  "raving  of  a  parcel  of  wild  enthusiasts,"  but  from  the 
position  here  taken  Massachusetts  never  afterward  receded. 


765 


THE   BEGINNINGS 


23 


But  it  was  not  only  in  these  formal  and  decorous  proceed- 
ings that  the  spirit  of  resistance  was  exhibited.  The  first 
announcement  of  the  Stamp  Act  had  called  into  existence  a 
group  of  secret  societies  of  workingmen  known  as  "  Sons  of 
Liberty,"  in  allusion  to  a  famous  phrase  in  one  of  Resistance 
Colonel  Barres  speeches.  These  societies  were  stamp  Act 
solemnly  pledged  to  resist  the  execution  of  the  in  Boston 
obnoxious  law.  On  the  14th  of  August,  the  quiet  town  of 
Boston  witnessed  some  extraordinary  proceedings.  At  day- 
break, the  effigy  of  the  stamp  officer,  Oliver,  was  seen  hang- 
ing from  a  great  elm-tree,  while  near  it  was  suspended  a  boot, 
to  represent  the  late  prime  minister,  Lord  Bute ;  and  from 
the  top  of  the  boot-leg  there  issued  a  grotesque  head,  gar- 
nished with  horns,  to  represent  the  devil.  At  nightfall  the 
Sons  of  Liberty  cut  down  these  figures,  and  bore  them  on 
a  bier  through  the  streets  until  they  reached  King  Street, 
where  they  demolished  the  frame  of  a  house  which  was 
supposed  to  be  erecting  for  a  stamp  office.  Thence,  carry- 
ing the  beams  of  this  frame  to  Fort  Hill,  where  Oliver 
lived,  they  made  a  bonfire  of  them  in  front,  of  his  house, 
and  in  the  bonfire  they  burned  up  the  effigies.  Twelve  days 
after, .  a  mob  sacked  the  splendid  house  of  Chief  Justice 
Hutchinson,  threw  his  plate  into  the  street,  and  destroyed 
the  valuable  library  which  he  had 
been  thirty  years  in  collecting, 
and  which  contained  many  man- 
uscripts, the  loss  of  which  was 
quite  irreparable.  As  usual  with 
mobs,  the  vengeance  fell  in  the 
wrong  place,  for  Hutchinson  had 
done  his  best  to  prevent  the  pas- 
sage of  the  Stamp  Act.  In  most 
of  the  colonies,  the  stamp  officers 
were  compelled   to   resign   their 

posts.  Boxes  of  stamps  arriving  by  ship  were  burned  or 
thrown  into  the  sea.  Leading  merchants  agreed  to  import 
no  more  goods  from  England,  and  wealthy  citizens  set  the 


Place  to      affix  .the 


24  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap  i 

example  of  dressing  in  homespun  garments.  Lawyers  agreed 
to  overlook  the  absence  of  the  stamp  on  legal  documents, 
while  editors  derisively  issued  their  newspapers  with  a  death's- 
head  in  the  place  where  the  stamp  was  required  to  be  put. 
In  New  York,  the  presence  of  the  troops  for  a  moment 
and  in  New  encouraged  the  lieutenant-governor,  Colden,  to 
York  take  a  bold  stand  in  behalf  of  the  law.     He  talked 

of  firing  upon  the  people,  but  was  warned  that  if  he  did  so 
he  would  be  speedily  hanged  on  a  lamp-post,  like  Captain 
Porteous  of  Edinburgh.  A  torchlight  procession,  carrying 
images  of  Colden  and  of  the  devil,  broke  into  the  governor's 
coach-house,  and,  seizing  his  best  chariot,  paraded  it  about 
town  with  the  images  upon  it,  and  finally  burned  up  chariot 
and  images  on  the  Bowling  Green,  in  full  sight  of  Colden 
and  the  garrison,  who  looked  on  from  the  Battery,  speech- 
less with  rage,  but  afraid  to  interfere.  Gage  did  not  dare 
to  have  the  troops  used,  for  fear  of  bringing  on  a  civil  war ; 
and  the  next  day  the  discomfited  Colden  was  obliged  to  sur- 
render all  the  stamps  to  the  common  council  of  New  York, 
by  whom  they  were  at  once  locked  up  in  the  City  Hall. 

Nothing  more  was  needed  to  prove  the*  impossibility  of 
carrying  the  Stamp  Act  into  effect.  An  -act  which  could 
be  thus  rudely  defied  under  the  very  eyes  of  $ie  commander- 
in-chief  plainly  could  never  be  enforced  without  a  war.  But 
nobody  wanted  a  war,  and  the  matter  began  to  be  recon- 
sidered in  England.  In  July,  the  Grenville  ministry  had 
gone  out  of  office,  and  the  Marquis  of  Rockingham  was 
now  prime  minister,  while  Conway,  who  had  been  one  of 
the  most  energetic  opponents  of  the  Stamp  Act,  was  secre- 
tary of  state  for  the  colonies.  The  new  ministry  would 
perhaps  have  been  glad  to  let  the  question  of  taxing  Amer- 
ica remain  in  abeyance,  but  that  was  no  longer  possible. 
Debate  in  The  debate  on  the  proposed  repeal  of  the  Stamp 
ofCom"se  Act  was  one  of  tne  keenest  that  has  ever  been 
mons  heard  in  the  House  of  Commons.     Grenville  and 

his  friends,  now  in  opposition,  maintained  in  all  sincerity  that 
no  demand  could  ever  be  more  just,  or  more  honourably 


i766  THE   BEGINNINGS  25 

intended,  than  that  which  had  lately  been  made  upon  the 
Americans.  Of  the  honest  conviction  of  Grenville  and  his 
supporters  that  they  were  entirely  in  the  right,  and  that 
the  Americans  were  governed  by  purely  sordid  and  vulgar 
motives  in  resisting  the  Stamp  Act,  there  cannot  be  the 
slightest  doubt.  To  refute  this  gross  misconception  of  the 
American  position,  Pitt  hastened  from  a  sick-bed  to  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  delivered  those  speeches  in  which 
he  avowed  that  he  rejoiced  in  the  resistance  of  the  Ameri- 
cans, and  declared  that,  had  they  submitted  tamely  to  the 
measures  of  Grenville,  they  would  have  shown  themselves 
only  fit  to  be  slaves.  He  pointed  out  distinctly  that  the 
Americans  were  upholding  those  eternal  principles  of  politi- 
cal justice  which  should  be  to  all  Englishmen  most  dear, 
and  that  a  victory  over  the  colonies  would  be  of  ill-omen 
for  English  liberty,  whether  in  the  Old  World  or  in  the 
New.  Beware,  he  said,  how  you  persist  in  this  ill-considered 
policy.  "  In  such  a  cause  your  success  would  be  hazardous. 
America,  if  she  fell,  would  fall  like  the  strong  man  with  his 
arms  around  the  pillars  of  the  Constitution."  There  could 
be  no  sounder  political  philosophy  than  was  contained  in 
these  burning  sentences  of  Pitt.  From  all  the  history  of 
the  European  world  since  the  later  days  of  the  Roman 
Republic,  there  is  no  more  important  lesson  to  be  learned 
than  this,  —  that  it  is  impossible  for  a  free  people  to  govern 
a  dependent  people  despotically  without  endangering  its  own 
freedom.  Pitt  therefore  urged  that  the  Stamp  Act  should 
instantly  be  repealed,  and  that  the  reason  for  the  repeal 
should  be  explicitly  stated  to  be  because  the  act  "was 
founded  on  an  erroneous  principle."  At  the  same  time  he 
recommended  the  passage  of  a  Declaratory  Act,  in  which  the 
sovereign  authority  of  Parliament  over  the  colonies  should 
be  strongly  asserted  with  respect  to  everything  except 
direct  taxation.  Similar  views  were  set  forth  in  the  House 
of  Lords,  with  great  learning  and  ability,  by  Lord  Camden  ; 
but  he  was  vehemently  opposed  by  Lord  Mansfield,  and 
when  the  question  came  to  a  decision,  the  only  peers  who  sup- 


26  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap.  I 

ported  Camden  were  Lords  Shelburne,  Cornwallis,  Paulet, 
and  Torrington.     The  result  finally  reached  was  the  uncon- 

ditional  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  and  the  simulta- 
the  stamp    neous  passage  of  a  Declaratory  Act,  in  which  the 

views  of  Pitt  and  Camden  were  ignored  and  Parlia- 
ment asserted  its  right  to  make  laws  binding  on  the  colonies 
"in  all  cases  whatsoever."  By  the  people  of  London  the 
repeal  was  received  with  enthusiastic  delight,  and  Pitt  and 
Conway,  as  they  appeared  on  the  street,  were  loudly 
cheered,  while  Grenville  was  greeted  with  a  storm  of  hisses. 
In  America  the  effect  of  the  news  was  electric.  There 
were  bonfires  in  every  town,  while  addresses  of  thanks  to 
the  king  were  voted  in  all  the  legislatures.  Little  heed  was 
paid  to  the  Declaratory  Act,  which  was  regarded  merely  as 
an  artifice  for  saving  the  pride  of  the  British  government. 
There  was  a  unanimous  outburst  of  loyalty  all  over  the 
country,  and  never  did  the  people  seem  less  in  a  mood  for 
rebellion  than  at  that  moment. 

The  quarrel  had  now  been  made  up.  On  the  question  of 
principle,  the  British  had  the  last  word.  The  government 
had  got  out  of  its  dilemma  remarkably  well,  and  the  plain 
and  obvious  course  for  British  statesmanship  was  not  to 
allow  another  such  direct  issue  to  come  up  between  the 
colonies  and  the  mother-country.  To  force  on  another  such 
issue  while  the  memory  of  this  one  was  fresh  in  everybody's 
mind  was  sheer  madness.  To  raise  the  question  wantonly, 
as  Charles  Townshend  did  in  the  course  of  the  very  next 
year,  was  one  of  those  blunders  that  are  worse  than  crimes. 
In  July,  1766, — less  than  six  months  after  the  repeal  of 
the  Stamp  Act, — the  Rockingham  ministry  fell,  and  the 
formation  of  a  new  ministry  was  entrusted  to  Pitt,  the  man 
who  best  appreciated  the  value  of  the  American  colonies. 
But  the  state  of  Pitt's  health  was  not  such  as  to  warrant  his 
The  Duke  taking  upon  himself  the  arduous  duties  of  prime 
tJn?sraf"  minister.  He  took  the  great  seal,  and,  accepting 
ministry  the  earldom  of  Chatham,  passed  into  the  House  of 
Lords.    The  Duke  of  Grafton  became  prime  minister,  under 


-• 

1      •"% 

'it 

28  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  i 

Pitt's  guidance ;  Conway  and  Lord  Shelburne  were  secreta- 
ries of  state,  and  Camden  became  Lord  Chancellor,  —  all 
three  of  them  warm  friends  of  America,  and  adopting  the 

the  extreme  American  view 
of  the  constitutional  ques- 
tions lately  at  issue ;  and 
along  with  these  was  Charles 
Townshend,  the  evil  spirit  of 
the  administration,  as  chan- 
cellor of  the  exchequer.  From  such  a  ministry,  it  might  at 
first  sight  seem  strange  that  a  fresh  quarrel  with  America 
should  have  proceeded.  But  Chatham's  illness  soon  over- 
powered him,  so  that  he  was  kept  at  home  suffering  excru- 
ciating pain,  and  could  neither  guide  nor  even  pay  due 
attention  to  the  proceedings  of  his  colleagues.  Of  the  rest 
of  the  ministry,  only  Conway  and  Townshend  were  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  where  the  real  direction  of  affairs 
rested ;  and  when  Lord  Chatham  was  out  of  the  way,  as  the 
Duke  of  Grafton  counted  for  nothing,  the  strongest  man  in 
the  cabinet  was  unquestionably  Townshend.  Now  when  an 
act  for  raising  an  American  revenue  was  proposed  by  Town- 
shend, a  prejudice  against  it  was  sure  to  be  excited  at  once, 
simply  because  every  American  knew  well  what  Town- 
shend's  views  were.  It  would  have  been  difficult  for  such  a 
man  even  to  assume  a  conciliatory  attitude  without  having 
his  motives  suspected  ;  and  if  the  question  with  Great  Britain 
had  been  simply  that  of  raising  a  revenue  on  statesmanlike 
principles,  it  would  have  been  well  to  entrust  the  business 
to  some  one  like  Lord  Shelburne,  in  whom  the  Americans 
had  confidence.  In  1767,  Townshend  ventured  to  do  what 
in  any  English  ministry  of  the  present  day  would  be  im- 
possible. In  flat  opposition  to  the  policy  of  Chatham  and 
the  rest  of  his  colleagues,  trusting  in  the  favour  of  the  king 
and  in  his  own  ability  to  coax  or  browbeat  the  House  of 
Commons,  he  brought  in  a  series  of  new  measures  for  taxing 
America.  "  I  expect  to  be  dismissed  for  my  pains,"  he  said 
in  the  House,  with  flippant  defiance  ;  and  indeed  he  came 


I767  THE   BEGINNINGS  29 

very  near  it.  As  soon  as  he  heard  what  was  going  on,  Chat- 
ham mustered  up  strength  enough  to  go  to  London  and  in- 
sist upon  Townshend's  dismissal.  But  Lord  North  was  the 
only  person  that  could  be  thought  of  to  take  Townshend's 
place,  and  Lord  North,  who  never  liked  to  offend  the  king, 
declined  the  appointment.      Before   Chatham  could  devise 


C0^7^?7^^4^Z^_ 


a  way  out  of  his  quandary,  his  malady  again  laid  him  pros- 
trate, and  Townshend  was  not  only  not  turned  out,  but 
was  left  practically  supreme  in  the  cabinet.  The  new 
measures  for  taxing  America  were  soon  passed.  In  the 
debates  on  the  Stamp  Act,  it  had  been  argued  that  while 
Parliament  had  no  right  to  impose  a  direct  tax  upon  the 
Americans,  it  might  still  properly  regulate  American  trade 
by  port  duties.  The  distinction  had  been  insisted  upon  by 
Pitt,  and  had  been  virtually  acknowledged  by  the  Ameri- 


30  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap.  I 

cans,  who  had  from  time  to  time  submitted  to  acts  of  Par- 
liament imposing  duties  upon  merchandise  imported  into 
the  colonies.  Nay,  more,  when  charged  with  inconsistency 
for  submitting  to  such  acts  while  resisting  the  Stamp  Act, 
The  Town-  several  leading  Americans  had  explicitly  adopted 
shend  Acts  the  distinction  between  internal  and  external  taxa- 
tion, and  declared  themselves  ready  to  submit  to  the  latter 
while  determined  to  resist  the  former.  Townshend  was 
now  ready,  as  he  declared,  to  take  them  at  their  word.  By 
way  of  doing  so,  he  began  by  laughing  to  scorn  the  dis- 
tinction between  internal  and  external  taxation,  and  declar- 
ing that  Parliament  possessed  the  undoubted  right  of  taxing 
the  Americans  without  their  own  consent ;  but  since  objec- 
tions had  been  raised  to  a  direct  tax,  he  was  willing  to  resort 
to  port  duties,  —  a  measure  to  which  the  Americans  were 
logically  bound  to  assent.  Duties  were  accordingly  imposed 
on  wine,  oil,  and  fruits,  if  carried  directly  to  America  from 
Spain  or  Portugal;  on  glass,  paper,  lead,  and  painters' 
colours  ;  and  lastly  on  tea.  The  revenue  to  be  derived  from 
these  duties  was  to  be  devoted  to  paying  a  fixed  salary  to 
the  royal  governors  and  to  the  justices  appointed  at  the 
king's  pleasure.  The  Crown  was  also  empowered  to  create 
a  general  civil  list  in  every  colony,  and  to  grant  salaries  and 
pensions  at  its  arbitrary  will.  A  board  of  revenue  com- 
missioners for  the  whole  country  was  to  be  established  at 
Boston,  armed  with  extraordinary  powers ;  and  general  writs 
of  assistance  were  expressly  legalized  and  permitted. 

Such  was  the  way  in  which  Townshend  proceeded  to  take 
the  Americans  at  their  word.  His  course  was  a  distinct 
warning  to  the  Americans  that,  if  they  yielded  now,  they 
might  expect  some  new  Stamp  Act  or  other  measures  of 
direct  taxation  to  follow ;  and  so  it  simply  invited  resistance. 
That  no  doubt  might  be  left  on  this  point,  the  purpose  for 
which  the  revenue  was  to  be  used  showed  clearly  that  the 
object  of  the  legislation  was  not  to  regulate  trade,  but  to 
assert  British  supremacy  over  the  colonies  at  the  expense 
of  their  political  freedom.     By  providing  for  a  civil  list  in 


1767 


THE   BEGINNINGS 


31 


HOUSE   OF   COMMONS 


each  colony,  to  be  responsible  only  to  the  Crown,  it  aimed 
at  American  self-government  even  a  more  deadly  blow  than 
had  been  aimed  at  it  by  the  Stamp  Act.  It  meddled  with 
the  "internal  police"  of  every  colony,  and  would  Attack  on 
thus  have  introduced  a  most  vexatious  form  of 
tyranny  as  soon  as  it  had  taken  effect.  A  special 
act  by  which  the  Townshend  revenue  acts  were  accompanied 
still  further  revealed  the  temper  and  purposes  of  the  British 


the  New 
York  as- 
sembly 


32  THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  i 

government.  The  colony  of  New  York  had  been  required 
to  provide  certain  supplies  for  the  regular  troops  quartered 
in  the  city,  under  command  of  General  Gage ;  and  the  colo- 
nial assembly  had  insisted  upon  providing  these  supplies  in 
its  own  way,  and  in  disregard  of  special  instructions  from 
England.  For  this  offence,  Parliament  now  passed  an  act 
suspending  the  New  York  assembly  from  its  legislative 
functions  until  it  should  have  complied  with  the  instructions 
regarding  the  supplies  to  the  army.  It  need  not  be  said 
that  the  precedent  involved  in  this  act,  if  once  admitted, 
would  have  virtually  annulled  the  legislative  independence 
of  every  one  of  the  colonial  assemblies. 

We  may  perhaps  wonder  that  a  British  Parliament  should 
have  been  prevailed  on  to  pass  such  audacious  acts  as 
these,  and  by  large  majorities.  But  we  must  remember 
that  in  those  days  the  English  system  of  representation  was 
Parliament  so  imperfect,  and  had  come  to  be  so  overgrown 
properly  with  abuses,  that  an  act  of  Parliament  was  by  no 
therBriSsh  means  sure  to  represent  the  average  judgment  of 
people  the  people.  The  House  of  Commons  was  so  far 
under  the  corrupt  influence  of  the  aristocracy,  and  was  so 
inadequately  controlled  by  popular  opinion,  that  at  almost 
any  time  it  was  possible  for  an  eloquent,  determined,  and 
unscrupulous  minister  to  carry  measures  through  it  such 
as  could  never  have  been  carried  through  any  of  the  re- 
formed Parliaments  since  1832.  It  is  not  easy,  perhaps, 
to  say  with  confidence  what  the  popular  feeling  in  England 
was  in  1767  with  reference  to  the  policy  of  Charles  Town- 
shend.  The  rural  population  was  much  more  ignorant  than 
it  is  to-day,  and  its  political  opinions  were  strongly  influ- 
enced by  the  country  squires,  —  a  worthy  set  of  men,  but 
not  generally  distinguished  for  the  flexibility  of  their  minds 
or  the  breadth  of  their  views.  But  as  a  sample  of  the  most 
intelligent  popular  feeling  in  England  at  that  time,  it  will 
probably  not  be  unfair  to  cite  that  of  the  city  of  London, 
which  was  usually  found  arrayed  on  the  side  of  free  govern- 
ment.    No  wiser  advice  was  heard  in  Parliament,  on  the 


1767 


THE   BEGINNINGS 


33 


subject  of  the  New  York  dispute,  than  was  given  by  Alder- 
man Beckford,  father  of  the'  illustrious  author  of  Vathek, 
when  he  said,  "  Do  like  the  best  of  physicians,  and  heal  the 
disease  by  doing  nothing."  On  many  other  important  occa- 
sions in  the  course  of  this  unfortunate  quarrel,  the  city  of 


HOUSE   OF   LORDS 


London  gave  expression  to  opinions  which  the  king  and 
Parliament  would  have  done  well  to  heed.  But  even  if  the 
House  of  Commons  had  reflected  popular  feeling  in  1767 
as  clearly  as  it  has  done  since  1832,  it  is  by  no  means  sure 
that  it  would  have  known  how  to  deal  successfully  with  the 
American  question.  The  problem  was  really  a  new  one  in 
political  history ;  and  there  was  no  adequate  precedent  to 
guide  the  statesmen  in  dealing  with  the  peculiar  combina- 


34  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  i 

tion  of  considerations  it  involved.  As  far  as  concerned  the 
relations  of  Englishmen  in  England  to  the  Crown  and  to 
Parliament,  the  British  Constitution  had  at  last  reached  a 
point  where  it  worked  quite  smoothly.  All  contingencies 
likely  to  arise  seemed  to  have  been  provided  for.  But  when 
it  came  to  the  relations  of  Englishmen  in  America  to  the 
Crown  and  to  Parliament,  the  case  was  very  different.  The 
case  had  its  peculiar  conditions,  which  the  British  Constitu- 
tion in  skilful  hands  would  no  doubt  have  proved  elastic 
enough  to  satisfy;  but  just  at  this  time  the  British  Consti- 
tution happened  to  be  in  very  unskilful  hands,  and  wholly 
failed  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  occasion.  The 
of  the  "  chief  difficulty  lay  in  the  fact  that  while  on  the 
pro  one  hand  the  American  principle  of  no  taxation 

without  representation  was  unquestionably  sound  and  just, 
on  the  other  hand  the  exemption  of  any  part  of  the  British 
Empire  from  the  jurisdiction  of  Parliament  seemed  equiva- 
lent to  destroying  the  political  unity  of  the  empire.  This 
could  not  but  seem  to  any  English  statesman  a  most 
lamentable  result,  and  no  English  statesman  felt  this  more 
strongly  than  Lord  Chatham. 

There  were  only  two  possible  ways  in  which  the  difference 
could  be  accommodated.  Either  the  American  colonies 
must  elect  representatives  to  the  Parliament  at  Westmin- 
ster ;  or  else  the  right  of  levying  taxes  must  be  left  where  it 
already  resided,  in  their  own  legislative  bodies.  The  first 
alternative  was  seriously  considered  by  eminent  political 
thinkers,  both  in  England  and  America.  In  England  it 
was  favourably  regarded  by  Adam  Smith,  and  in  America 
by  Benjamin  Franklin  and  James  Otis.  In  1774,  some  of 
the  loyalists  in  the  first  Continental  Congress  recommended 
such  a  scheme.  In  1778,  after  the  overthrow  of  Burgoyne, 
Represen-  tne  kinS  nimself  began  to  think  favourably  of  such 
tationof   '    a  way  out  0f  the  quarrel.     But  this  alternative  was 

Americans  . J .  _  ,         _  .  .    .  , 

inPariia-      doubtless  from  the  first  quite  visionary  and   un- 
practical.    The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  securing 
anything  like  equality  of  representation  would  probably  have 


1767  THE    BEGINNINGS  35 

been  insuperable ;  and  the  difficulty  in  dividing  jurisdiction 
fairly  between  the  local  colonial  legislature  and  the  Amer- 
ican contingent  in  the  Parliament  at  Westminster  would  far 
have  exceeded  any  of  the  difficulties  that  have  arisen  in 
the  attempt  to  adjust  the  relations  of  the  several  States  to 
the  general  government  in  our  Federal  Union.  Mere  dis- 
tance, too,  which  even  to-day  would  go  far  toward  rendering 
such  a  scheme  impracticable,  would  have  been  a  still  more 
fatal  obstacle  in  the  days  of  Chatham  and  Townshend.  If, 
even  with  the  vast  enlargement  of  the  political  horizon 
which  our  hundred  years'  experience  of  federalism  has 
effected,  the  difficulty  of  such  a  union  still  seems  so  great, 
we  may  be  sure  it  would  have  proved  quite  insuperable 
then.  The  only  practicable  solution  would  have  been  the 
frank  and  cordial  admission,  by  the  British  government,  of 
the  essential  soundness  of  the  American  position,  that,  in 
accordance  with  the  entire  spirit  of  the  English  Constitu- 
tion, the  right  of  levying  taxes  in  America  resided  only  in 
the  colonial  legislatures,  in  which  alone  could  American 
freemen  be  adequately  represented.  Nor  was  there  really 
any  reason  to  fear  that  such  a  step  would  imperil  the  unity 
of  the  empire.  How  mistaken  this  fear  was,  on  the  part  of 
English  statesmen,  is  best  shown  by  the  fact  that,  in  her 
liberal  and  enlightened  dealings  with  her  colonies  at  the 
present  day,  England  has  consistently  adopted  the  very 
course  of  action  which  alone  would  have  conciliated  such 
men  as  Samuel  Adams  in  the  days  of  the  Stamp  Act.  By 
pursuing  such  a  policy,  the  British  government  has  to-day  a 
genuine  hold  upon  the  affections  of  its  pioneers  in  Australia 
and  New  Zealand  and  Africa.  If  such  a  statesman  as 
Gladstone  could  have  dealt  freely  with  the  American  ques- 
tion during  the  twelve  years  following  the  Peace  of  Paris, 
the  history  of  that  time  need  not  have  been  the  pitiable 
story  of  a  blind  and  obstinate  effort  to  enforce  submission 
to  an  ill-considered  and  arbitrary  policy  on  the  part  of  the 
king  and  his  ministers.  The  feeling  by  which  the  king's 
party  was  guided,  in  the  treatment  of  the  American  ques- 


36  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  i 

tion,  was  very  much  the  same  as  the  feeling  which  lately 
inspired  the  Tory  criticisms  upon  Gladstone's  policy  in 
South  Africa.  Lord  Beaconsfield,  a  man  in  some  respects 
not  unlike  Charles  Townshend,  bequeathed  to  his  successor 
„    „  .      a  miserable  quarrel  with  the  Dutch  farmers  of  the 

Mr.  Glad-  * 

stone  and  Transvaal ;  and  Mr.  Gladstone,  after  examining 
the  case  on  its  merits,  had  the  moral  courage  to 
acknowledge  that  England  was  wrong,  and  to  concede  the 
demands  of  the  Boers,  even  after  serious  military  defeat  at 
their  hands.  Perhaps  no  other  public  act  of  England  in 
the  nineteenth  century  has  done  her  greater  honour  than 
this.  But  said  the  Jingoes,  All  the  world  will  now  laugh  at 
Englishmen,  and  call  them  cowards.  In  order  to  vindicate 
the  military  prestige  of  England,  the  true  policy  would  be, 
forsooth,  to  prolong  the  war  until  the  Boers  had  been  once 
thoroughly  defeated,  and  then  acknowledge  the  soundness 
of  their  position.  Just  as  if  the  whole  world  did  not  know, 
as  well  as  it  can  possibly  know  anything,  that  whatever 
qualities  the  English  nation  may  lack,  it  certainly  does  not 
lack  courage,  or  the  ability  to  win  victories  in  a  good  cause ! 
All  honour  to  the  Christian  statesman  who  dares  to  leave 
England's  military  prestige  to  be  vindicated  by  the  glorious 
records  of  a  thousand  years,  and  even  in  the  hour  of  well- 
merited  defeat  sets  a  higher  value  on  political  justice  than 
on  a  reputation  for  dealing  hard  blows  !  Such  incidents  as 
this  are  big  with  hope  for  the  future.  They  show  us  what 
sort  of  political  morality  our  children's  children  may  expect 
to  see,  when  mankind  shall  have  come  somewhat  nearer 
toward  being  truly  civilized. 

In  the  eighteenth  century,  no  such  exhibition  of  good 
sense  and  good  feeling,  in  the  interest  of  political  justice, 
could  have  been  expected  from  any  European  statesman, 
unless  from  a  Turgot  or  a  Chatham.  But  Charles  Town- 
shend was  not  even  called  upon  to  exercise  any  such  self- 
control.  Had  he  simply  taken  Alderman  Beckford's  advice, 
and  done  nothing,  all  would  have  been  well ;  but  his  med- 
dling had  now  put  the  government  into  a  position  which  it 


1767  THE    BEGINNINGS  37 

was  ruinous  to  maintain,  but  from  which  it  was  difficult  to 
retreat.  American  tradition  rightly  lays  the  chief  blame 
for  the  troubles  which  brought  on  the  Revolutionary  War  to 
George  III.  ;  but,  in  fairness,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  he 
did  not  suggest  Townshend's  measures,  though  he  zealously 
adopted  and  cherished  them  when  once  propounded.  The 
blame  for  wantonly  throwing  the  apple  of  discord  belongs  to 
Townshend  more  than  to  any  one  else.  After  doing  this, 
within  three  months  from  the  time  his  bill  had  passed  the 
House  of  Commons,  Townshend  was  seized  with  a   _    xl    , 

Death  of 

fever  and  died  at  the  age  of  forty-one.  A  man  of  Town- 
extraordinary  gifts,  but  without  a  trace  of  earnest 
moral  conviction,  he  had  entered  upon  a  splendid  career ; 
but  his  insincere  nature,  which  turned  everything  into  jest, 
had  stamped  itself  upon  his  work.  He  bequeathed  to  his 
country  nothing  but  the  quarrel  which  was  soon  to  deprive 
her  of  the  grandest  part  of  that  empire  upon  which  the  sun 
shall  never  set. 

If  Townshend's  immediate  object  in  originating  these 
measures  was  to  curry  favour  with  George  III.,  and  get  the 
lion's  share  in  the  disposal  of  the  king's  ample  corruption- 
fund,  he  had  doubtless  gone  to  work  in  the  right  way.  The 
king  was  delighted  with  Townshend's  measures,  and  after 
the  sudden  death  of  his  minister  he  made  them  his  His  politi- 
own,  and  staked  his  whole  political  career  as  a  5g£2 
monarch  upon  their  success.  These  measures  were  IIL 
the  fatal  legacy  which  the  brighter  political  charlatan  left 
to  the  duller  political  fanatic.  The  fierce  persistency  with 
which  George  now  sought  to  force  Townshend's  measures 
upon  the  Americans  partook  of  the  nature  of  fanaticism, 
and  we  shall  not  understand  it  unless  we  bear  in  mind  the 
state  of  political  parties  in  England  between  1760  and  1784. 
When  George  III.  came  to  the  throne,  in  1760,  England 
had  been  governed  for  more  than  half  a  century  by  the  great 
Whig  families  which  had  been  brought  into  the  foreground 
by  the  revolution  of  1688.  The  Tories  had  been  utterly 
discredited  and  cast  out  of  political  life  by  reason  of  their 


38 


THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


in 


willingness  to  conspire  with  the  Stuart  pretenders  in  dis 
turbing  the  peace  of  the  country.  Cabinet  government 
its  modern  form,  had  begun  to  grow  up  during  the  long  and 
prosperous  administration  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  who  was 
the  first  English  prime  minister  in  the  full  sense.  Under 
Walpole' s  wise  and  powerful  sway,  the  first  two  Georges 
had  possessed  scarcely  more  than  the  shadow  of  sovereignty. 
It  was  the  third  George's  ambition  to  become  a  real  king, 
like  the  king  of  France  or  the  king  of  Spain.  From  earliest 
babyhood,  his  mother  had  forever  been  impressing  upon  him 


GEORGE    III 


the  precept,  "  George,  be  king  !  "  and  this  simple  lesson  had 
constituted  pretty  much  the  whole  of  his  education.  Popu- 
lar tradition  regards  him  as  the  most  ignorant  king  that  ever 
sat  upon  the  English  throne ;  and  so  far  as  general  culture 
is  concerned,  this  opinion  is  undoubtedly  correct.  He  used 
to  wonder   what    people   could   find   to   admire   in    such   a 


1767  THE    BEGINNINGS  39 

wretched  driveller  as  Shakespeare,  and  he  never  was  capable 
of  understanding  any  problem  which  required  the  slightest 
trace   of    imagination   or   of    generalizing    power.    character 
Nevertheless,  the  popular  American  tradition  un-   of  George 
doubtedly  errs  in  exaggerating  his  stupidity  and 
laying  too  little  stress  upon  the  worst  side  of  his  character. 
George   III.  was  not  destitute  of  a  certain  kind  of  ability, 
which  often  gets  highly  rated  in  this  not  too  clear-sighted 
world.     He  could  see  an  immediate  end  very  distinctly,  and 
acquired  considerable  power  from  the  dogged  industry  with 
which  he  pursued  it.     In  an  age  when  some  of  the  noblest 
English  statesmen  drank  their  gallon  of  strong  wine  daily, 
or  sat  late  at  the  gambling- 
table,  or  lived  in  scarcely  .><      "X 
hidden  concubinage,  George              jS         /^?) 
III.  was  decorous   in   per-           /  ^^1 
sonal   habits    and   pure   in           J^^£^^^^C^s*f 
domestic  relations,  and  no       //            Sy^      ^y 
banker's   clerk  in    London      ^                            Ss 
applied  himself  to  the  de- 
tails of   business   more   industriously  than   he.     He  had  a 
genuine  talent  for  administration,  and  he  devoted  this  talent 
most  assiduously  to  selfish  ends.     Scantily  endowed  with 
human  sympathy,  and  almost  boorishly  stiff  in  his  ordinary 
unstudied  manner,  he  could  be  smooth  as  oil  whenever  he 
liked.     He  was  an  adept  in  gaining  men's  confidence  by  a 
show  of   interest,   and  securing  their   aid  by  dint   of   fair 
promises ;  and  when  he  found  them  of  no  further  use,  he 
could  turn  them  adrift  with  wanton  insult.     Any  one  who 
dared  to  disagree  with  him  upon  even  the  slightest  point  of 
policy  he  straightway  regarded  as  a  natural  enemy,  and  pur- 
sued him  ever  afterward  with  vindictive  hatred.     As  a  nat- 
ural  consequence,   he  surrounded   himself   with  weak  and 
short-sighted  advisers,  and  toward  all  statesmen  of  broad 
views   and   independent   character  he   nursed  the  bitterest 
rancour.     He  had  little  faith  in  human  honour  or  rectitude, 
and  in  pursuing  an  end  he  was  seldom  deterred  by  scruples. 


40  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  i 

Such  was  the  man  who,  on  coming  to  the  throne  in  1 760, 
had  it  for  his  first  and  chiefest  thought  to  break  down  the 
growing  system  of  cabinet  government  in  England.  For 
the  moment  circumstances  seemed  to  favour  him.  The 
ascendancy  of  the  great  Whig  families  was  endangered  on 
two  sides.  On  the  one  hand,  the  Tory  party  had  outlived 
that  idle,  romantic  love  for  the  Stuarts  upon  which  it  found 
English  it  impossible  to  thrive.  The  Tories  began  coming 
SmTijSo  t0  court  again,  and  they  gave  the  new  king  all  the 
and  1784  benefit  of  their  superstitious  theories  of  high  pre- 
rogative and  divine  right.  On  the  other  hand,  a  strong  popu- 
lar feeling  was  beginning  to  grow  up  against  parliamentary 
government  as  conducted  by  the  old  Whig  families.  The 
House  of  Commons  no  longer  fairly  represented  the  people. 
Ancient  boroughs,  which  possessed  but  a  handful  of  popula- 
tion, or,  like  Old  Sarum,  had  no  inhabitants  at  all,  still  sent 
their  representatives  to  Parliament,  while  great  cities  of 
recent  growth,  such  as  Birmingham  and  Leeds,  were  unrep- 
resented. To  a  great  extent,  it  was  the  most  progressive 
parts  of  the  kingdom  which  were  thus  excluded  from  a  share 
in  the  government,  while  the  rotten  boroughs  were  disposed 
of  by  secret  lobbying,  or  even  by  open  bargain  and  sale.  A 
few  Whig  families,  the  heads  of  which  sat  in  the  House  of 
Lords,  thus  virtually  owned  a  considerable  part  of  the  House 
of  Commons ;  and,  under  such  circumstances,  it  was  not  at 
all  strange  that  Parliament  should  sometimes,  as  in  the 
Wilkes  case,  array  itself  in  flat  opposition  to  the  will  of  the 
people.  The  only  wonder  is  that  there  were  not  more  such 
scandals.  The  party  of  "  Old  Whigs,"  numbering  in  its 
ranks  some  of  the  ablest  and  most  patriotic  men  in  England, 
was  contented  with  this  state  of  things,  upon  which  it  had 
thrived  for  two  generations,  and  could  not  be  made  to  under- 
stand the  iniquity  of  it,  —  any  more  than  an  old  cut-and- 
dried  American  politician  in  our  time  can  be  made  to  under- 
stand the  iniquity  of  the  "spoils  system."  Of  this  party 
the  Marquis  of  Rockingham  was  the  political  leader,  and 
Edmund  Burke  was  the  great  representative  statesman.     In 


I767  THE   BEGINNINGS  41 

strong  opposition  to  the  Old  Whig  policy  there  had  grown 
up  the  party  of  New  Whigs,  bent  upon  bringing  about  some 
measure  of  parliamentary  reform,  whereby  the  House  of 
Commons  might  truly  represent  the  people  of  Great  Britain. 
In  Parliament  this  party  was  small  in  numbers,  but  weighty 
in  character,  and  at  its  head  was  the  greatest  Englishman  of 


^^~^1^ 


the  eighteenth  century,  the  elder  William  Pitt,  under  whose 
guidance  England  had  won  her  Indian  empire  and  estab- 
lished her  dominion  over  the  seas,  while  she  had  driven  the 
French  from  America,  and  enabled  Frederick  the  Great  to 
lay  the  foundations  of  modern  Germany. 

Now  when  George  III.  came  to  the  throne,  he  took  ad- 
vantage of  this  division  in  the  two  parties  in  order 
to  break  down  the  power  of  the  Old  Whig  families,    as  a  poiiti- 
which  so  long  had  ruled  the  country.     To  this  end 
he  used  the  revived  Tory  party  with  great  effect,  and  bid 
against  the  Old  Whigs  for  the  rotten  boroughs  ;  and  in  play- 


42  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  i 

ing  off  one  set  of  prejudices  and  interests  against  another, 
he  displayed  in  the  highest  degree  the  cunning  and  craft  of 
a  self-seeking  politician.  His  ordinary  methods  would  have 
aroused  the  envy  of  Tammany.  While  engaged  in  such 
work,  he  had  sense  enough  to  see  that  the  party  from  which 
he  had  most  to  fear  was  that  of  the  New  Whigs,  whose 
scheme  of  parliamentary  reform,  if  ever  successful,  would 
deprive  him  of  the  machinery  of  corruption  upon  which  he 
relied.  Much  as  he  hated  the  Old  Whig  families,  he  hated 
Pitt  and  his  followers  still  more  heartily.  He  was  perpet- 
ually denouncing  Pitt  as  a  "trumpeter  of  sedition,"  and 
often  vehemently  declared  in  public,  and  in  the  most  offen- 
sive manner,  that  he  wished  that  great  man  were  dead. 
Such  had  been  his  eagerness  to  cast  discredit  upon  Pitt's 
policy  that  he  had  utterly  lost  sight  of  the  imperial  interests 
of  England,  which  indeed  his  narrow  intelligence  was  inca- 
pable of  comprehending.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  his  reign 
had  been  to  throw  away  Cuba  and  the  Philippine  Islands, 
which  Pitt  had  just  conquered  from  Spain ;  while  at  the 
same  time,  by  leaving  Prussia  in  the  lurch  before  the  Seven 
Years'  War  had  fairly  closed,  he  converted  the  great  Fred- 
erick from  one  of  England's  warmest  friends  into  one  of  her 
bitterest  enemies. 

This  political  attitude  of  George  III.  toward  the  Whigs 
in  general,  and  toward  Pitt  in  particular,  explains  the  fierce 
obstinacy  with  which  he  took  up  and  carried  on  Town- 
TT.    ..\      shend's  quarrel  with  the  American  colonies.     For 

His  chiei  n 

reason  for  if  the  American  position,  that  there  should  be  no 
Srthemg  taxation  without  representation,  were  once  to  be 
Americans  grante(jj  ^n  jt  would  straightway  become  neces- 
sary to  admit  the  principles  of  parliamentary  reform.  The 
same  principle  that  applied  to  such  commonwealths  as  Mas- 
sachusetts and  Virginia  would  be  forthwith  applied  to  such 
towns  as  Birmingham  and  Leeds.  The  system  of  rotten 
boroughs  would  be  swept  away ;  the  chief  engine  of  kingly 
corruption  would  thus  be  destroyed ;  a  reformed  House 
of  Commons,  with  the  people  at  its  back,  would  curb  for- 
ever the  pretensions  of  the  Crown  ;  and  the  detested  Lord 


1767  THE   BEGINNINGS  43 

Chatham  would  become  the  real  ruler  of  a  renovated  Eng- 
land, in  which  George  III.  would  be  a  personage  of  very 
little  political  importance. 

In  these  considerations  we  find  the  explanation  of  the 
acts  of  George  III.  which  brought  on  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, and  we  see  why  it  is  historically  correct  to  regard  him 
as  the  person  chiefly  responsible  for  the  quarrel.  The 
obstinacy  with  which  he  refused  to  listen  to  a  word  of  reason 
from  America  was  largely  due  to  the  exigencies  of  the  politi- 
cal situation  in  which  he  found  himself.  For  him,  as  well 
as  for  the  colonies,  it  was  a  desperate  struggle  for  political 
existence.  He  was  glad  to  force  on  the  issue  in  America 
rather  than  in  England,  because  it  would  be  comparatively 
easy  to  enlist  British  local  feeling  against  the  Americans  as 
a  remote  set  of  "rebels,"  with  whom  Englishmen  had  no 
interests  in  common,  and  thus  obscure  the  real  nature  of 
the  issue.  Herein  he  showed  himself  a  cunning  politician, 
though  an  ignoble  statesman.  By  playing  off  against  each 
other  the  two  sections  of  the  Whig  party,  he  continued  for 
a  while  to  carry  his  point ;  and  had  he  succeeded  in  over- 
coming the  American  resistance  and  calling  into  England  a 
well-trained  army  of  victorious  mercenaries,  the  political 
quarrel  there  could  hardly  have  failed  to  develop  into  a 
civil  war.  A  new  rebellion  would  perhaps  have  overthrown 
George  III.  as  James  II.  had  been  overthrown  a  century 
before.  As  it  was,  the  victory  of  the  Americans  put  an  end 
to  the  personal  government  of  the  king  in  1784,  so  quietly 
that  the  people  scarcely  realized  the  change.1  A  peaceful 
election  accomplished  what  otherwise  could  hardly  have 
been  effected  without  bloodshed.  So  while  George  III.  lost 
the  fairest  portion  of  the  British  Empire,  it  was  the  sturdy 
Americans  who,  fighting  the  battle  of  freedom  at  once  for 
the  Old  World  and  for  the  New,  ended  by  overwhelming 
his  paltry  schemes  for  personal  aggrandizement  in  hopeless 
ruin,  leaving  him  for  posterity  to  contemplate  as  one  of  the 
most  instructive  examples  of  short-sighted  folly  that  modern 
history  affords. 

1  See  my  Critical  Period  of  American  History,  chap.  i. 


CHAPTER    II 


THE    CRISIS 


Townshend  was  suc- 
ceeded in  the  exchequer 
by  Lord  North,  eldest 
son  of  the  Earl  of  Guild- 
ford, a  young  man  of 
sound  judgment,  wide 
knowledge,  and  rare 
sweetness  of  temper, 
but  wholly  lacking  in 
sympathy  with  popular 
government.  As  leader 
of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, he  was  suffi- 
ciently able  in  debate  to 
hold  his  ground  against 
the  fiercest  attacks  of 
Burke  and  Fox,  but  he 
had  no  strength  of  will. 
His  lazy  good-nature  and  his  Tory  principles  made  him  a 
great  favourite  with  the  king,  who,  through  his  influence 
over  Lord  North,  began  now  to  exercise  the  power  of  a  cab- 
inet minister,  and  to  take  a  more  important  part  than  hitherto 
in  the  direction  of  affairs.  Soon  after  North  entered  the 
cabinet,  colonial  affairs  were  taken  from  Lord  Shelburne 
and  put  in  charge  of  Lord  Hillsborough,  a  man  after  the 
king's  own  heart.  Conway  was  dismissed  from  the  cabinet, 
and  his  place  was  taken  by  Lord  Weymouth,  who  had  voted 
against  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act.  The  Earl  of  Sandwich, 
who  never  spoke  of  the  Americans  but  in  terms  of  abuse, 


LORD    NORTH 


i768  THE   CRISIS  45 

was  at  the  same  time  made  postmaster-general ;  and  in  the 
following  year  Lord  Chatham  resigned  the  privy  seal. 

While  the  ministry,  by  these  important  changes,  was  be- 
coming more  and  more  hos- 
tile to  the  just  claims  of  the 
Americans,  those  claims  were 
powerfully  urged  in  Amer- 
ica, both  in  popular  literature 
and  in  well-considered  state 
papers.  John  Dickinson,  at 
once  a  devoted  friend  of  England  and  an  ardent  American 
patriot,  published  his  celebrated  Farmer's  Letters,  which 
were  greatly  admired  in  both  countries  for  their  john 
temperateness  of  tone  and  elegance  of  expression.  Dickinson 
In  these  letters,  Dickinson  held  a  position  quite  similar  to 
that  occupied  by  Burke.  Recognizing  that  the  constitutional 
relations  of  the  colonies  to  the  mother-country  had  always 
been  extremely  vague  and  ill-defined,  he  urged  that  the  same 
state  of  things  be  kept  up  forever  through  a  genuine  Eng- 
lish feeling  of  compromise,  which  should  refrain  from  push- 
ing any  abstract  theory  of  sovereignty  to  its  extreme  logical 
conclusions.  At  the  same  time,  he  declared  that  the  Town- 
shend  revenue  acts  were  "a  most  dangerous  innovation" 
upon  the  liberties  of  the  people,  and  significantly  hinted, 
that,  should  the  ministry  persevere  in  its  tyrannical  policy, 
"English  history  affords  examples  of  resistance  by  force." 

While   Dickinson   was   publishing  these   letters,  Samuel 
Adams  wrote  for  the  Massachusetts   assembly  a   The  Mas- 
series  of  addresses  to  the  ministry,   a  petition  to   JJSjjJJf fa 
the  king,  and  a  circular  letter  to  the  assemblies  of   letter 
the  other  colonies.     In  these  very  able  state  papers,  Adams 
declared  that  a  proper  representation  of  American  interests 
in  the  British   Parliament  was  impracticable,   and  that,  in 
accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  English  Constitution,  no 
taxes  could  be  levied  in  America  except  by  the  colonial 
legislatures.     He  argued  that  the  Townshend  acts  were  un- 
constitutional, and  asked  that  they  should  be  repealed,  and 


46 


THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  II 


that  the  colonies  should  resume  the  position  which  they  had 
occupied  before  the  beginning  of  the  present  troubles.  The 
petition  to  the  king  was  couched  in  beautiful  and  touching 
language,  but  the  author  seems  to  have  understood  very  well 
how  little  effect  it  was  likely  to  produce.  His  daughter, 
Mrs.  Wells,  used  to  tell  how  one  evening,  as  her  father  had 
just  finished  writing  this  petition,  and  had  taken  up  his  hat 
to  go  out,  she  observed  that  the  paper  would  soon  be  touched 

by  the  royal  hand.  "More 
likely,  my  dear,"  he  replied, 
"it  will  be  spurned  by  the 
royal  foot !  "  Adams  rightly 
expected  much  more  from  the 
circular  letter  to  the  other 
colonies,  in  which  he  invited 
them  to  cooperate  with  Mas- 
sachusetts in  resisting  the 
Townshend  acts,  and  in  peti- 
tioning for  their  repeal.  The 
assembly,  having  adopted  all 
these  papers  by  a  large  ma- 
jority, was  forthwith  pro- 
rogued by  Governor  Bernard, 
who,  in  a  violent  speech,  called 
them  demagogues  to  whose 
happiness  "  everlasting  con- 
tention was  necessary."  But  the  work  was  done.  The 
circular  letter  brought  encouraging  replies  from  the  other 
colonies.  The  condemnation  of  the  Townshend  acts  was 
unanimous,  and  leading  merchants  in  most  of  the  towns 
entered  into  agreements  not  to  import  any  more  English 
goods  until  the  acts  should  be  repealed.  Ladies  formed 
associations,  under  the  name  of  Daughters  of  Liberty,  pledg- 
ing themselves  to  wear  homespun  clothes  and  to  abstain  from 
drinking  tea.  The  feeling  of  the  country  was  thus  plainly 
enough  expressed,  but  nowhere  as  yet  was  there  any  riot  or 
disorder,  and  ho  one  as  yet,  except,  perhaps,  Samuel  Adams, 


g^UJ1^^^ 


1768 


THE    CRISIS 


47 


had  begun  to  think  of  a  political  separation  from  England. 
Even  he  did  not  look  upon  such  a  course  as  desirable,  but 
the  treatment  of  his  remonstrances  by  the  king  and  the 
ministry  soon  led  him  to  change  his  opinion. 

The  petition  of  the  Massachusetts  assembly  was  received 
by  the  king  with  silent  contempt,  but  the  circular  letter 
threw  him  into  a  rage.  In  cabinet  meeting,  it  was  pro- 
nounced to  be  little  better  than  an  overt  act  of  rebellion, 
and  the  ministers  were  encouraged  in  this  opinion  by  let- 
ters from  Bernard,  who  represented  the  whole  affair  as  the 


A  LIST   of  the  Names   of    tbofe  \ 

who  audaci  ousl  y continue  to  counteract  the  unit-  j? 
ei>  Sentiments  of  the  Bopr  of  Merchants  IhraNmt  T? 
NOUTH- AMERICA  j  by  importing  Britiih  Good*  \ 

I 

I 

-h 
l? 
T? 
-h 
h 

h 


contrary  to  the  rAgt  cement. 

John  Bernard, 

.  (In  King- Street,  almoft  oppofite  VernarVsHead. 

James  McMafters, 

(On  Treats  Wharf, 

Tatrick  McMaJlers, 

(OppofLte.  the  Sign  of  the  Lamb. 

John  Mein, 

(Oppofrte'the-White-Hcrie,  and  in  King-Street. 

Nathaniel  Rogers, 

(Oppofite  Mr.  Henderfon  Inches-  Store  lower  End  J? 
Ktng^.  Street. 

William  Jack/on, 

At  theBrazenHead,  CornhiU,ftear  theTown»Hmife. 

Theophilus  Lillie> 

(NearMr.PeaibertonTsMcetiflg-Houfe,North-End. 

John  Taylor, 

(NtarJy  oppoSte  the  Heart  andCrowninCcrnhilL. 

u4me  o*  Elizabeth  Gummings, 

(Ojspofite»*he  Old  Brick  Meetmg\Hoiife,  all  ofBoflon. 

Jfrael  Williamsy  Efq;  &  Son, 

(Traders  inihe  Townof  Hatfield. 

And,  Henry  Barnes, 

(Trader  in  the  Town  of  M.     icro\ 


48  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  ii 

wicked  attempt  of  a  few  vile  demagogues  to  sow  the  seeds 
of  dissension  broadcast  over  the  continent.  We  have  before 
had  occasion  to  observe  the  extreme  jealousy  with  which 
the  Crown  had  always  regarded  any  attempt  at  concerted 
action  among  the  colonies  which  did  not  originate 
borough's  with  itself.  But  here  was  an  attempt  at  concerted 
tions  to  action  in  flagrant  opposition  to  the  royal  will.  Lord 
Bernard  Hillsborough  instructed  Bernard  to  command  the 
assembly  to  rescind  their  circular  letter,  and,  in  case  of  their 
refusal,  to  send  them  home  about  their  business.  This  was 
to  be  repeated  year  after  year,  so  that,  until  Massachusetts 
should  see  fit  to  declare  herself  humbled  and  penitent,  she 
must  go  without  a  legislature.  At  the  same  time,  Hills- 
borough ordered  the  assemblies  in  all  the  other  colonies  to 
treat  the  Massachusetts  circular  with  contempt,  —  and  this, 
too,  under  penalty  of  instant  dissolution.  From  a  constitu- 
tional point  of  view,  these  arrogant  orders  deserve  to  be 
ranked  among  the  curiosities  of  political  history.  They 
serve  to  mark  the  rapid  progress  the  ministry  was  making 
in  the  art  of  misgovernment.  A  year  before,  Townshend 
had  suspended  the  New  York  legislature  by  an  act  of  Par- 
liament. Now,  a  secretary  of  state,  by  a  simple  royal  order, 
threatened  to  suspend  all  the  legislative  bodies  of  America 
unless  they  should  vote  according  to  his  dictation. 

When  Hillsborough's  orders  were  laid  before  the  Massa- 
chusetts assembly,  they  were  greeted  with  scorn.  "We 
are  asked  to  rescind,"  said  Otis.  "  Let  Britain  rescind  her 
The"iiius-  measures,  or  the  colonies  are  lost  to  her  forever." 
Ninety-  Nevertheless,  it  was  only  after  nine  days  of  discus- 
Two  "  sion  that  the  question  was  put,  when  the  assembly 
decided,  by  a  vote  of  ninety-two  to  seventeen,  that  it  would 
not  rescind  its  circular  letter.  Bernard  immediately  dis- 
solved the  assembly,  but  its  vote  was  hailed  with  delight 
throughout  the  country,  and  the  "Illustrious  Ninety-Two" 
became  the  favourite  toast  on  all  convivial  occasions.  Nor 
were  the  other  colonial  assemblies  at  all  readier  than  that 
of  Massachusetts  to  yield  to  the  secretary's  dictation.    They 


1768  THE    CRISIS  49 

all  expressed  the  most  cordial  sympathy  with  the  recom- 
mendations of  the  circular  letter ;  and  in  several  instances 
they  were  dissolved  by  the  governors,  according  to  Hills- 
borough's instructions. 

While  these  fruitless  remonstrances  against  the  Town- 
shend  acts  had  been  preparing,  the  commissioners  of  the 
customs,  in  enforcing  the  acts,  had  not  taken  sufficient  pains 
to  avoid  irritating  the  people.  In  the  spring  of  1768,  the 
fifty-gun  frigate  Romney  had  been  sent  to  mount  guard  in 
the  harbour  of  Boston,  and  while  she  lay  there  several  of 
the  citizens  were  seized  and  impressed  as  seamen,  —  a  law- 
less practice  long  afterward  common  in  the  British    . 

■ii  .  .  impress- 

navy,    but   already    stigmatized    as  barbarous    by   mentor 

public  opinion  in  America.  As  long  ago  as  1747, 
when  the  relations  between  the  colonies  and  the  home 
government  were  quite  harmonious,  resistance  to  the  press- 
gang  had  resulted  in  a  riot  in  the  streets  of  Boston.  Now 
while  the  town  was  very  indignant  over  this  lawless  kidnap- 
ping of  its  citizens,  on  the  10th  of  June,  1766,  John  Han- 
cock's sloop  Liberty  was  seized  at  the  wharf  by  a  boat's 
crew  from  the  Romney,  for  an  alleged  violation  of  the 
revenue  laws,  though  without  official  warrant.  Insults  and 
recriminations  ensued  between  the  officers  and  the  citizens 
assembled  on  the  wharf,  until  after  a  while  the  excitement 
grew  into  a  mild  form  of  riot,  in  which  a  few  windows  were 
broken,  some  of  the  officers  were  pelted,  and  finally  a 
pleasure-boat,  belonging  to  the  collector,  was  pulled  up  out 
of  the  water,  carried  to  the  Common,  and  burned  there, 
when  Hancock  and  Adams,  arriving  upon  the  scene,  put  a 
stop  to  the  commotion.  A  few  days  afterward,  a  town 
meeting  was  held  in  Faneuil  Hall ;  but  as  the  crowd  was 
too  great  to  be  contained  in  the  building,  it  was  adjourned 
to  the  Old  South  Meeting-House,  where  Otis  addressed  the 
people  from  the  pulpit.  A  petition  to  the  governor  was 
prepared,  in  which  it  was  set  forth  that  the  impressment 
of  peaceful  citizens  was  an  illegal  act,  and  that  the  state  of 
the  town  was  as  if  war  had  been  declared  against  it ;  and  the 


5° 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  II 


FANEUIL    HALL,   "THE    CRADLE    OF    LIBERTY 


governor  was  requested  to  order  the  instant  removal  of  the 
frigate  from  the  harbour.  A  committee  of  twenty-one  lead- 
ing citizens  was  appointed  to  deliver  this  petition  to  the 
governor  at  his  house  in  Jamaica  Plain.  In  his  letters  to 
the  secretary  of  state  Bernard  professed  to  live  in  constant 
fear  of  assassination,  and  was  always  begging  for  troops  to 
protect  him  against  the  incendiary  and  blackguard  mob  of 
Boston.  Yet  as  he  looked  down  the  beautiful  road  from  his 
open  window,  that  summer  afternoon,  what  he  saw  was  not 
a  ragged  mob,  armed  with  knives  and  bludgeons,  shouting 
"  Liberty,  or  death ! "  and  bearing  the  head  of  a  revenue 
collector  aloft  on  the  point  of  a  pike,  but  a  quiet  procession 
of  eleven  chaises,  from  which  there  alighted  at  his  door 
twenty-one  gentlemen,  as  sedate  and  stately  in  demeanour 
as  those  old  Roman  senators  at  whom  the  Gaulish  chief  so 
marvelled.  There  followed  a  very  affable  interview,  during 
which  wine  was  passed  around.  The  next  day  the  gov- 
ernor's   answer   was    read   in   town    meeting,    declining   to 


1768 


THE    CRISIS 


5i 


remove  the  frigate,  but  promising  that  in  future  there  should 
be  no  impressment  of  Massachusetts  citizens ;  and  with  this 
compromise  the  wrath  of  the  people  was  for  a  moment 
assuaged. 

Affairs  of  this  sort,  reported  with  gross  exaggeration  by 
the  governor  and  revenue  commissioners  to  the  ministry, 
produced  in  England  the  impression  that  Boston  was  a  law- 
less and  riotous  town,  full  of  cutthroats  and  blacklegs,  whose 


violence  could  be  held  in  check  only  by  martial  law.  Of  all 
the  misconceptions  of  America  by  England  which  brought 
about  the  American  Revolution,  perhaps  this  notion  of  the 
turbulence  of  Boston  was  the  most  ludicrous.     During  the 


52  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  n 

ten  years  of  excitement  which  preceded  the  War  of  Inde- 
pendence there  was  one  disgraceful  riot  in  Boston,  —  that 
in  which  Hutchinson's  house  was  sacked ;  but  in  all  this 
time  not  a  drop  of  blood  was  shed  by  the  people,  nor  was 
anybody's  life  for  a  moment  in  danger  at  their  hands.  The 
episode  of  the  sloop  Liberty,  as  here  described,  was  a  fair 
sample  of  the  disorders  which  occurred  at  Boston  at  peri- 
ods of  extreme  excitement ;  and  in  any  European  town  in 
the  eighteenth  century  it  would  hardly  have  been  deemed 
worthy  of  mention. 

Even  before  the  affair  of  the  Liberty,  the  government 
had  made  up  its  mind  to  send  troops  to  Boston,  in  order  to 
overawe  the  popular  party  and  show  them  that  the  king  and 
Lord  Hillsborough  were  in  earnest.  The  news  of  the  Lib- 
erty affair,  however,  served  to  remove  any  hesitation  that 
might  hitherto  have  been  felt.  Vengeance  was  denounced 
statute  of  against  the  insolent  town  of  Boston.  The  most 
Henry         seditious  spirits,  such  as  Otis  and  Adams,  must  be 

VIII.  con-  x 

ceming        made  an  example  of,  and  thus  the  others  might 

treason 

committed  be  frightened  into  submission.  With  such  intent, 
abroad"  Lord  Hillsborough  sent  over  to  inquire  "if  any 
person  had  committed  any  acts  which,  under  the  statutes 
of  Henry  VIII.  against  treason  committed  abroad,  might 
justify  their  being  brought  to  England  for  trial."  This 
raking-up  of  an  obsolete  statute,  enacted  at  one  of  the  worst 
periods  of  English  history,  and  before  England  had  any 
colonies  at  all,  was  extremely  injudicious.  But  besides  all 
this,  continued  Hillsborough,  the  town  meeting,  that  nur- 
sery of  sedition,  must  be  put  down  or  overawed ;  and  in 
pursuance  of  this  scheme,  two  regiments  of  soldiers  and  a 
frigate  were  to  be  sent  over  to  Boston  at  the  ministry's 
earliest  convenience.  To  make  an  example  of  Boston, 
it  was  thought,  would  have  a  wholesome  effect  upon  the 
temper  of  the  Americans. 

It  was  now,  in  the  summer  of  1768,  that  Samuel  Adams 
made  up  his  mind  that  there  was  no  hope  of  redress  from 
the  British  government,  and  that  the  only  remedy  was  to 


1768  THE    CRISIS  53 

be  found  in  the  assertion  of  political  independence  by  the 
American  colonies.  The  courteous  petitions  and  temperate 
remonstrances  of  the  American  assemblies  had  Samuel 
been  met,  not  by  rational  arguments,  but  by  insult-  ^™3 
ing  and  illegal  royal  orders ;  and  now  at  last  an  his  mind, 
army  was  on  the  way  from  England  to  enforce 
the  tyrannical  measures  of  government,  and  to  terrify  the 
people  into  submission.  Accordingly,  Adams  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  only  proper  course  for  the  colonies  was 
to  declare  themselves  independent  of  Great  Britain,  to  unite 
together  in  a  permanent  confederation,  and  to  invite  Euro- 
pean alliances.  We  have  his  own  word  for  the  fact  that 
from  this  moment  until  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
in  1776,  he  consecrated  all  his  energies,  with  burning  enthu- 
siasm, upon  the  attainment  of  that  great  object.  Yet  in 
1 768  no  one  knew  better  than  Samuel  Adams  that  the  time 
had  not  yet  come  when  his  bold  policy  could  be  safely 
adopted,  and  that  any  premature  attempt  at  armed  resist- 
ance on  the  part  of  Massachusetts  might  prove  fatal.  At 
this  time,  probably  no  other  American  statesman  had 
thought  the  matter  out  so  far  as  to  reach  Adams's  conclu- 
sions. No  American  had  as  yet  felt  any  desire  to  terminate 
the  political  connection  with  England.  Even  those  who  most 
thoroughly  condemned  the  measures  of  the  government  did 
not  consider  the  case  hopeless,  but  believed  that  in  one 
way  or  another  a  peaceful  solution  was  still  attainable.  For 
a  long  time  this  attitude  was  sincerely  and  patiently  main- 
tained. Even  Washington,  when  he  came  to  take  command 
of  the  army  at  Cambridge,  after  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill, 
had  not  made  up  his  mind  that  the  object  of  the  war  was  to 
be  the  independence  of  the  colonies.  In  the  same  month 
of  July,  1775,  Jefferson  said  expressly,  "We  have  not  raised 
armies  with  designs  of  separating  from  Great  Britain  and 
establishing  independent  states.  Necessity  has  not  yet 
driven  us  into  that  desperate  measure."  The  Declaration 
of  Independence  was  at  last  brought  about  only  with  diffi- 
culty  and    after   prolonged    discussion.       Our   great-great- 


54 


THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  II 


grandfathers  looked  upon  themselves  as  Englishmen,  and 
felt  proud  of  their  connection  with  England.  Their  deter- 
mination to  resist  arbitrary  measures  was  at  first  in  no 
way  associated  in  their  minds  with  disaffection  toward  the 
mother-country.  Besides  this,  the  task  of  effecting  a  sepa- 
ration by  military  measures  seemed  to  most  persons  quite 
hopeless.  It  was  not  until  after  Bunker  Hill  had  shown 
that  American  soldiers  were  a  match  for  British  soldiers 
in  the  field,  and  after  Washington's  capture  of  Boston  had 
shown  that  the  enemy  really  could  be  dislodged  from  a 
whole  section  of  the  country,  that  the  more  hopeful  patriots 
began  to  feel  confident  of  the  ultimate  success  of  a  war  for 
independence.  It  is  hard  for  us  now  to  realize  how  terrible 
the  difficulties  seemed  to  the  men  who  surmounted  them. 


LANDING    OF   THE    TROOPS    IN    BOSTON,    1 768 

Throughout  the  war,  beside  the  Tories  who  openly  sympa- 
thized with  the  enemy,  there  were  many  worthy  people  who 
thought  we  were  "going  too  far,"  and  who  magnified  our 
losses  and  depreciated  our  gains,  —  quite  like  the  people 
who,  in  the  War  of  Secession,  used  to  be  called  "  croakers." 
The  depression  of  even  the  boldest,  after  such  defeats  as 
that  of  Long  Island,  was  dreadful.  How  inadequate  was 
the  general  sense  of  our  real  strength,  how  dim  the  general 


768 


THE    CRISIS 


55 


comprehension  of  the  great  events  that  were  happening, 
may  best  be  seen  in  the  satirical  writings  of  some  of  the 
loyalists.  At  the  time  of  the  French  alliance,  there  were 
many  who  predicted  that  the  result  of  this  step  would  be 
to  undo  the  work  of  the  Seven  Years'  War,  to  reinstate  the 
French  in  America  with  full  control  over  the  thirteen  colo- 
nies, and  to  establish  despotism  and  popery  all  over  the 
continent.  A  satirical  pamphlet,  published  in  1779,  just  ten 
years  before  the  Bastille  was  torn  down  in  Paris,  drew  an 


CASTLE    WILLIAM,    BOSTON    HARBOUR 


imaginary  picture  of  a  Bastille  which  ten  years  later  was  to 
stand  in  New  York,  and,  with  still  further  license  of  fantasy, 
portrayed  Samuel  Adams  in  the  garb  of  a  Dominican  friar. 
Such  nonsense  is  of  course  no  index  to  the  sentiments  or 
the  beliefs  of  the  patriotic  American  people,  but  the  mere 
fact  that  it  could  occur  to  anybody  shows  how  hard  it  was 
for  people  to  realize  how  competent  America  was  to  take 
care  of  herself.  The  more  we  reflect  upon  the  slowness 
with  which  the  country  came  to  the  full  consciousness  of  its 
power  and  importance,  the  more  fully  we  bring  ourselves 
to  realize  how  unwilling  America  was  to  tear  herself  asunder 
from  England,  and  how  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  only  at  last  resorted  to  when  it  had  become  evident 
that  no  other  course  was  compatible  with  the  preservation 
of  our  self-respect ;  the  more  thoroughly  we  realize  all  this, 
the  nearer  we  shall  come  toward  duly  estimating  the  fact 


56  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  ii 

that  in  1768,  seven  years  before  the  battle  of  Lexington, 
the  master  mind  of  Samuel  Adams  had.  fully  grasped  the 
conception  of  a  confederation  of  American  states  independ- 
ent of  British  control.  The  clearness  with  which  he  saw 
this,  as  the  inevitable  outcome  of  the  political  conditions  of 
the  time,  gave  to  his  views  and  his  acts,  in  every  emergency 
that  arose,  a  commanding  influence  throughout  the  land. 

In  September,  1768,  it  was  announced  in  Boston  that  the 
troops  were  on  their  way,  and  would  soon  be  landed.  There 
happened  to  be  a  legal  obstacle,  unforeseen  by  the  ministry, 
to  their  being  quartered  in  the  town.  In  accordance  with 
the  general  act  of  Parliament  for  quartering  troops,  the  reg- 
ular barracks  at  Castle  William  in  the  harbour  would  have 
to  be  filled  before  the  town  could  be  required  to  find  quar- 
ters for  any  troops.  Another  clause  of  the  act  provided 
that  if  any  military  officer  should  take  upon  himself  to  quar- 
ter soldiers  in  any  of  his  Majesty's  dominions  otherwise  than 
as  allowed  by  the  act,  he  should  be  straightway  dismissed 
,    .   ,  ,     the  service.     At  the  news  that  the  troops  were 

Arrival  of  .  x 

troops  in  about  to  arrive,  the  governor  was  asked  to  convene 
the  assembly,  that  it  might  be  decided  how  to  re- 
ceive them.  On  Bernard's  refusal,  the  selectmen  of  Boston 
issued  a  circular,  inviting  all  the  towns  of  Massachusetts  to 
send  delegates  to  a  general  convention,  in  order  that  delib- 
erate action  might  be  taken  upon  this  important  matter. 
In  answer  to  the  circular,  delegates  from  ninety-six  towns 
assembled  in  Faneuil  Hall,  and,  laughing  at  the  governor's 
order  to  "disperse,"  proceeded  to  show  how,  in  the  exercise 
of  the  undoubted  right  of  public  meeting,  the  colony  could 
virtually  legislate  for  itself,  in  the  absence  of  its  regular  leg- 
islature. The  convention,  finding  that  nothing  was  neces- 
sary for  Boston  to  do  but  insist  upon  strict  compliance  with 
the  letter  of  the  law,  adjourned.  In  October,  two  regiments 
arrived,  and  were  allowed  to  land  without  opposition,  but 
no  lodging  was  provided  for  them.  Bernard,  in  fear  of  an 
affray,  had  gone  out  into  the  country ;  but  nothing  could 
have  been  farther  from  the  thoughts  of  the  people.     The 


^/^r  +9^*Ssv£asrr^4 


•  •    •      e 

•     •    •  •  • 

e      r     c  t    e 


1768  THE    CRISIS  57 

commander,  Colonel  Dalrymple,  requested  shelter  for  his 
men,  but  was  told  that  he  must  quarter  them  in  the  bar- 
racks at  Castle  William.  As  the  night  was  frosty,  however, 
the  Sons  of  Liberty  allowed  them  to  sleep  in  Faneuil  Hall. 
Next  day,  the  governor,  finding  everything  quiet,  came  back, 
and  heard  Dalrymple' s  complaint.  But  in  vain  did  he  apply 
in  turn  to  the  council,  to  the  selectmen,  and  to  the  justices 
of  the  peace,  to  grant  quarters  for  the  troops ;  he  was  told 
that  the  law  was  plain,  and  that  the  Castle  must  first  be 
occupied.  The  governor  then  tried  to  get  possession  of  an 
old  dilapidated  building  which  belonged  to  the  colony ;  but 
the  tenants  had  taken  legal  advice,  and  told  him  to  turn 
them  out  if  he  dared.  Nothing  could  be  more  provoking. 
General  Gage  was  obliged  to  come  on  from  his  headquarters 
at  New  York ;  but  not  even  he,  the  commander-in-chief  of 
his  Majesty's  forces  in  America,  could  quarter  the  troops  in 
violation  of  the  statute  without  running  the  risk  of  being 
cashiered,  on  conviction  before  two  justices  of  the  peace. 
So  the  soldiers  stayed  at  night  in  tents  on  the  Common, 
until  the  weather  grew  so  cold  that  Dalrymple  was  obliged 
to  hire  some  buildings  for  them  at  exorbitant  rates,  and  at 
the  expense  of  the  Crown.  By  way  of  insult  to  the  people, 
two  cannon  were  planted  on  King  Street,  with  their  muzzles 
pointing  toward  the  Town  House.  But  as  the  troops  could 
do  nothing  without  a  requisition  from  a  civil  magistrate,  and 
as  the  usual  strict  decorum  was  preserved  throughout  the 
town,  there  was  nothing  in  the  world  for  them  to  do.  In 
case  of  an  insurrection,  the  force  was  too  small  to  be  of  any 
use ;  and  so  far  as  the  policy  of  overawing  the  town  was 
concerned,  no  doubt  the  soldiers  were  more  afraid  of  the 
people  than  the  people  of  the  soldiers. 

No  sooner  were  the  soldiers  thus  established  in  Boston 
than  Samuel  Adams  published  a  series  of  letters  Letters  of 
signed  "Vindex,"  in  which  he  argued  that  to  keep  "vindex" 
up  "  a  standing  army  within  the  kingdom  in  time  of  peace, 
without  the  consent  of  Parliament,  was  against  the  law ;  that 
the  consent  of  Parliament  necessarily  implied  the  consent 


58 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  II 

of  the  people,  who  were  always  present  in  Parliament,  either 
by  themselves  or  by  their  representatives;  and  that  the 
Americans,  as  they  were  not  and  could  not  be  represented 
in  Parliament,  were  therefore  suffering  under  military  tyr- 
anny over  which  they  were  allowed  to  exercise  no  control." 
The  only  notice  taken  of  this  argument  by  Bernard  and 


GENERAL    HENRY    CONWAY 


Hillsborough  was  an  attempt  to  collect  evidence  upon  the 
strength  of  which  its  author  might  be  indicted  for  treason, 
and  sent  over  to  London  to  be  tried ;  but  Adams  had  been 
so  wary  in  all  his  proceedings  that  it  was  impossible  to 
charge  him  with  any  technical  offence,  and  to  have  seized 
him  otherwise  than  by  due  process  of  law  would  have  been 
to  precipitate  rebellion  in  Massachusetts. 

In  Parliament,  the  proposal  to  extend  the  act  of  Henry 
VIII.  to  America  was  bitterly  opposed  by  Burke,  Barre, 
Pownall,  and  Dowdeswell,  as  well  as  by  Grenville,  who  char- 
acterized it  as  sheer  madness ;  but  the  measure  was  carried, 


1769  THE    CRISIS  59 

nevertheless.  Burke  further  maintained,  in  an  eloquent 
speech,  that  the  royal  order  requiring  Massachu-  Debate  in 
setts  to  rescind  her  circular  letter  was  unconstitu-  Parhament 
tional ;  and  here  again  Grenville  agreed  with  him.  The 
attention  of  Parliament,  during  the  spring  of  1769,  was  occu- 
pied chiefly  with  American  affairs.  Pownall  moved  that  the 
Townshend  acts  should  be  repealed,  and  in  this  he  was 
earnestly  seconded  by  a  petition  of  the  London  merchants  ; 
for  the  non-importation  policy  of  Americans  had  begun  to 
bear  hard  upon  business  in  London.     After  much  debate, 


Lord  North  proposed  a  compromise,  repealing  all  the  Town- 
shend acts  except  that  which  laid  duty  on  tea.  The  more 
clear-headed  members  saw  that  such  a  compromise,  which 
yielded  nothing  in  the  matter  of  principle,  would  do  no  good. 
Beckford  pointed  out  the  fact  that  the  tea-duty  did  not  bring 
in  ^300  to  the  government ;  and  Lord  Beauchamp  perti- 
nently asked  whether  it  were  worth  while,  for  such  a  paltry 


6o  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  CHAP.  II 

revenue,  to  make  enemies  of  three  millions  of  people.  Graf- 
ton, Camden,  Conway,  Burke,  Barre,  and  Dowdeswell  wished 
to  have  the  tea-duty  repealed  also,  and  the  whole  principle 
of  parliamentary  taxation  given  up ;  and  Lord  North  agreed 
with  them  in  his  secret  heart,  but  could  not  bring  himself  to 
act  contrary  to  the  king's  wishes.  "  America  must  fear  you 
before  she  can  love  you,"  said  Lord  North.  ...  "I  am 
against  repealing  the  last  act  of  Parliament,  securing  to  us 
a  revenue  out  of  America ;  I  will  never  think  of  repealing 
it  until  I  see  America  prostrate  at  my  feet."  "To  effect 
this,"  said  Barre,  "is  not  so  easy  as  some  imagine;  the 
Americans  are  a  numerous,  a  respectable,  a  hardy,  a  free 
people.     But  were  it  ever  so  easy,  does  any  friend 

Colonel  f .  ii-i  a  •  i 

Barre's  to  his  country  really  wish  to  see  America  thus 
speec  humbled  ?     In  such  a  situation,  she  would  serve 

only  as  a  monument  of  your  arrogance  and  your  folly.  For 
my  part,  the  America  I  wish  to  see  is  America  increasing 
and  prosperous,  raising  her  head  in  graceful  dignity,  with 
freedom  and  firmness  asserting  her  rights  at  your  bar,  vindi- 
cating her  liberties,  pleading  her  services,  and  conscious  of 
her  merit.  This  is  the  America  that  will  have  spirit  to  fight 
your  battles,  to  sustain  you  when  hard  pushed  by  some  pre- 
vailing foe,  and  by  her  industry  will  be  able  to  consume 
your  manufactures,  support  your  trade,  and  pour  wealth  and 
splendour  into  your  towns  and  cities.  If  we  do  not  change 
our  conduct  towards  her,  America  will  be  torn  from  our 
side.  .  .  .  Unless  you  repeal  this  law,  you  run  the  risk  of 
losing  America."  But  the  ministers  were  deaf  to  Barre's 
sweet  reasonableness.  "We  shall  grant  nothing  to  the 
Americans,"  said  Lord  Hillsborough,  "except  what  they 
may  ask  with  a  halter  round  their  necks."  "They  are  a 
race  of  convicted  felons,"  echoed  poor  old  Dr.  Johnson,  — 
who  had  probably  been  reading  Moll  Flanders,  —  "  and  they 
ought  to  be  thankful  for  anything  we  allow  them  short  of 
hanging." 

As  the  result  of  the  discussion,  Lord  North's  so-called 
compromise  was  adopted,  and  a  circular  was  sent  to  Amer- 


1769 


THE    CRISIS 


61 


ica,  promising  that  all  the  obnoxious  acts,  except  the  tea- 
duty,  should  be  repealed.  At  the  same  time,  Bernard  was 
recalled  from  Massachusetts  to  appease  the  indignation  of 
the  people,  and  made  a  baronet  to  show  that  the  ministry 
approved  of  his  conduct  as  governor.     His  place  was  filled 


%/.  UirfM'rrtoT^ 


by  the  lieutenant-governor,  Thomas  Hutchinson,  a  man  of 
great  learning  and  brilliant  talent,  whose  "  History   Th 
of  Massachusetts  Bay  "  entitles  him  to  a  high  rank    Hutchin- 
among  the  worthies  of  early  American  literature. 
The  next  year  Hutchinson  was  appointed  governor.     As  a 
native  of  Massachusetts,  it  was  supposed  by  Lord  North 
that  he  would  be  less  likely  to  irritate  the  people  than  his 
somewhat  arrogant  predecessor.     But  in  this  the  govern- 
ment turned  out  to  be  mistaken.     As  to  Hutchinson's  sin- 
cere patriotism  there  can  now  be  no  doubt  whatever.    There 
was  something  pathetic  in  the  intensity  of  his  love  for  New 
England,  which  to  him  was  the  goodliest  of  all  lands,  the 


62 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  II 


paradise  of  this  world.  He  had  been  greatly  admired  for  his 
learning  and  accomplishments,  and  the  people  of  Massachu- 
setts had  elected  him  to  one  office  after  another,  and  shown 
him  every  mark  of  esteem  until  the  evil  days  of  the  Stamp 
Act.  It  then  began  to  appear  that  he  was  a  Tory  on  prin- 
ciple, and  a  thorough  believer  in  the  British  doctrine  of  the 
absolute  supremacy  of  Parliament,  and  popular  feeling  pres- 
ently turned  against  him.  He  was  called  a  turncoat  and 
traitor,  and  a  thankless  dog  withal,  whose  ruling  passion  was 
avarice.     His  conduct  and  his  motives  were  alike  misjudged. 

He  had  tried  to  dis- 
suade the  Grenville 
ministry  from  passing 
the  Stamp  Act ;  but 
when  once  the  obnox- 
ious measure  had  be- 
come law,  he  thought 
it  his  duty  to  enforce 
it  like  other  laws. 
For  this  he  was 
charged  with  being 
recreant  to  his  own 
convictions,  and  in 
the  shameful  riot  of 
August,  1765,  he  was 
the  worst  sufferer.  No  public  man  in  America  has  ever 
been  the  object  of  more  virulent  hatred.  None  has  been 
more  grossly  misrepresented  by  historians.  His  appoint- 
ment as  governor,  however  well  meant,  turned  out  to  be 
anything  but  a  wise  measure. 

While  these  things  were  going  on,  a  strong  word  of  sym- 
pathy came  from  Virginia.  When  Hillsborough  made  up 
his  mind  to  browbeat  Boston,  he  thought  it  worth  while  to 
cajole  the  Virginians,  and  try  to  win  them  from  the  cause 
which  Massachusetts  was  so  boldly  defending.  So  Lord 
Botetourt,  a  genial  and  conciliatory  man,  was  sent  over  to  be 
governor  of  Virginia,  to  beguile  the  people  with  his  affable 


CAPITOL    AT    WILLIAMSBURGH, 


1769 


THE    CRISIS 


63 


APOLLO  ROOM  IN  THE  RALEIGH  TAVERN 


manner  and  sweet  discourse.  But  between  a  quarrelsome 
Bernard  and  a  gracious  Botetourt  the  practical  difference 
was  little,  where  grave  questions  of  constitutional  right  were 
involved.  In  May,  1769,  the  House  of  Burgesses  .  . 
assembled  at  Williamsburgh.  Among  its  members  resolutions, 
were  Patrick  Henry,  Washington,  and  Jefferson. 
The  assembly  condemned  the  Townshend  acts,  asserted  that 
the  people  of  Virginia  could  be  taxed  only  by  their  own  rep- 
resentatives, declared  that  it  was  both  lawful  and  expedient 
for  all  the  colonies  to  join  in  a  protest  against  any  violation 
of  the  rights  of  Americans,  and  especially  warned  the  king 
of  the  dangers  that  might  ensue  if  any  American  citizen 
were  to  be  carried  beyond  sea  for  trial.  Finally,  it  sent 
copies  of  these  resolutions  to  all  the  other  colonial  assem- 
blies, inviting  their  concurrence.  At  this  point  Lord  Bote- 
tourt dissolved  the  assembly ;  but  the  members  straightway 
met  again  in  convention  at  the  famous  Apollo  room  of  the 
Raleigh  tavern,  and  adopted  a  series  of  resolutions  prepared 
by  Washington,  in  which  they  pledged  themselves  to  con- 
tinue the  policy  of  non-importation  until  all  the  obnoxious 
acts  of  1767  should  be  repealed.  These  resolutions  were 
adopted  by  all  the  southern  colonies. 

All  through  the  year  1769,  the  British  troops  remained 


64 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  II 


quartered  in  Boston  at  the  king's  expense.  According  to 
Samuel  Adams,  their  principal  employment  seemed  to  be 
to  parade  in  the  streets,  and  by  their  merry-andrew  tricks  to 
excite  the  contempt  of  women  and  children.  But  the  sol- 
diers did  much  to  annoy  the  peo- 
ple, to  whom  their  very  presence 
was  an  insult.  They  led  brawl- 
ing, riotous  lives,  and  made  the 
quiet  streets  hideous  by  night 
with  their  drunken  shouts.  Scores 
of  loose  women,  who  had  followed 
the  regiments  across  the  ocean, 
came  to  scandalize  the  town  for  a 
while,  and  then  to  encumber  the 
almshouse.  On  Sundays  the  sol- 
diers would  race  horses  on  the 
Common,  or  play  Yankee  Doodle 
just  outside  the  church-doors  dur- 
ing the  services.  Now  and  then 
oaths,  or  fisticuffs,  or  blows  with 
sticks,  were  exchanged  between 
soldiers  and  citizens,  and  once 
or  twice  a  more  serious  affair  oc- 
curred. One  evening  in  Septem- 
ber, a  dastardly  assault  was  made 
upon  James  Otis,  in  the  British 
Coffee  House,  by  one  Robinson, 
a  commissioner  of  customs,  as- 
sisted by  half  a  dozen  army  officers.  It  reminds  one  of  the 
Assault  on  assault  upon  Charles  Sumner  by  Brooks  of  South 
james  Otis  Carolina,  shortly  before  the  War  of  Secession. 
Otis  was  savagely  beaten,  and  received  a  blow  on  the  head 
with  a  sword,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  never  recovered, 
but  finally  lost  his  reason.  The  popular  wrath  at  this  out- 
rage was  intense,  but  there  was  no  disturbance.  Otis 
brought  suit  against  Robinson,  and  recovered  ,£2,000  in 
damages,  but  refused  to  accept  a  penny  of  it  when  Robinson 


m 

t  -  „iUlHi'ii«l„„ii. 

TO    Illlltt'llWUIIIIIIIIIIllimik 

y  m 

IIUIIUIIIUUI  ..,ii..,.-.,,,.:...,iiiiiiiiinniiiil,ri. 

Q-<&*& 

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STOVE    USED    IN    THE     HOUSE    OF 
BURGESSES 


l77o  THE    CRISIS  65 

confessed  himself  in  the  wrong,  and  humbly  asked  pardon 
for  his  irreparable  offence. 

On  the  22d  of  February,  1770,  an  informer  named  Rich- 
ardson, being  pelted  by  a  party  of  schoolboys,  withdrew  into 
his  house,  opened  a  window,  and  fired  at  random  into  the 
crowd,  killing  one  little^boy  and  severely  wounding  another. 
He  was  found  guilty  of  murder,  but  was  pardoned.  At  last, 
on  the  2d  of  March,  an  angry  quarrel  occurred  between  a 
party  of  soldiers  and  some  of  the  workmen  at  a  ropewalk, 
and  for  two  or  three  days  there  was  considerable  excite- 
ment in  the  town,  and  people  talked  together,  standing  about 
the  streets  in  groups ;  but  Hutchinson  did  not  even  take 
the  precaution  of  ordering  the  soldiers  to  be  kept  within  their 
barracks,  for  he  did  not  believe  that  the  people  intended 
a  riot,  nor  that  the  troops  would  dare  to  fire  on  the  citizens 
without  express  permission  from  himself.  On  the  evening 
of  March  5th,  at  about  eight  o'clock,  a  large  crowd  collected 
near  the  barracks,  on  Brattle  Street,  and  from  bandying 
abusive  epithets  with  the  soldiers  began  pelting  them  with 
snow-balls  and  striking  at  them  with  sticks,  while  the  soldiers 
now  and  then  dealt  blows  with  their  muskets.  Presently 
Captain  Goldfinch,  coming  along,  ordered  the  men  •  : 
into  their  barracks  for  the  night,  and  thus  stopped  "  Boston 
the  affray.  But  meanwhile  some  one  had  got  into 
the  Old  Brick  Meeting-House,  opposite  the  head  of  King 
Street,  and  rung  the  bell ;  and  this,  being  interpreted  as  an 
alarm  of  fire,  brought  out  many  people  into  the  moonlit 
streets.  It  was  now  a  little  past  nine.  The  sentinel  who 
was  pacing  in  front  of  the  Custom  House  had  a  few  minutes 
before  knocked  down  a  barber's  boy  for  calling  names  at  the 
captain,  as  he  went  up  to  stop  the  affray  on  Brattle  Street. 
The  crowd  in  King  Street  now  began  to  pelt  the  sentinel, 
and  some  shouted,  "Kill  him!"  when  Captain  Preston  and 
seven  privates  from  the  twenty-ninth  regiment  crossed  the 
street  to  his  aid :  and  thus  the  file  of  nine  soldiers  con- 
fronted an  angry  crowd  of  fifty  or  sixty  unarmed  men,  who 
pressed  up  to  the  very  muzzles  of  their  guns,  threw  snow 


66 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  II 


OLD    BRICK    MEETING-HOUSE 


at  their  faces,  and  dared  them  to  fire.  All  at  once,  but 
quite  unexpectedly  and  probably  without  orders  from  Pres- 
ton, seven  of  the  levelled  pieces  were  discharged,  instantly 
killing  four  men  and  wounding  seven  others,  of  whom  two 
afterwards  died.  Immediately  the  alarm  was  spread  through 
the  town,  and  it  might  have  gone  hard  with  the  soldiery, 
had  not  Hutchinson  presently  arrived  on  the  scene,  and 
quieted  the  people  by  ordering  the  arrest  of  Preston  and 
his  men.  Next  morning  the  council  advised  the  removal 
of  one  of  the  regiments,  but  in  the  afternoon  an  immense 
town  meeting,  called  at  Faneuil  Hall,  adjourned  to  the  Old 
South  Meeting-House ;  and  as  they  passed  by  the  Town 
House  (or  what  we  now  call  the  Old  State  House),  the 
lieutenant-governor,  looking  out  upon  their  march,  judged 
"  their  spirit  to  be  as  high  as  was  the  spirit  of  their  ances- 
tors when  they  imprisoned  Andros,  while  they  were  four 


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PAUL    REVERE'S    PLAN    OF    KING    STREET  IN    1770 
( Used  in  the  trial  of  the  soldiers) 


68  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  n 

times  as  numerous."  All  the  way  from  the  church  to  the 
Town  House  the  street  was  crowded  with  the  people,  while 
a  committee,  headed  by  Samuel  Adams,  waited  upon  the 
governor,  and  received  his  assurance  that  one  regiment 
should  be  removed.  As  the  committee  came  out  from  the 
Town  House,  to  carry  the  governor's  reply  to  the  meeting 
in  the  church,  the  people  pressed  back  on  either  side  to  let 
them  pass ;  and  Adams,  leading  the  way  with  uncovered 
head  through  the  lane  thus  formed,  and  bowing  first  to  one 
side  and  then  to  the  other,  passed  along  the  watchword, 
"Both  regiments,  or  none!"  When,  in  the  church,  the 
question  was  put  to  vote,  three  thousand  voices  shouted, 
"  Both  regiments,  or  none  !  "  and  armed  with  this  ultimatum 
the  committee  returned  to  the  Town  House,  where  the 
governor  was  seated  with  Colonel  Dairy mple  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  council.  Then  Adams,  in  quiet  but  earnest 
tones,  stretching  forth  his  arm  and  pointing  his  finger  at 
Hutchinson,  said  that  if  as  acting  governor  of  the  province 
he  had  the  power  to  remove  one  regiment  he  had  equally 
the  power  to  remove  both,  that  the  voice  of  three  thousand 
freemen  demanded  that  all  soldiery  be  forthwith  removed 
from  the  town,  and  that  if  he  failed  to  heed  their  just  de- 
mand, he  did  so  at  his  peril.  "I  observed  his  knees  to 
tremble,"  said  the  old  hero  afterward,  "I  saw  his  face  grow 
pale, — and  I  enjoyed  the  sight!"  That  Hutchinson  was 
agitated  we  may  well  believe ;  not  from  fear,  but  from  a 
sudden  sickening  sense  of  the  odium  of  his  position  as  king's 
representative  at  such  a  moment.  He  was  a  man  of  invin- 
cible courage,  and  surely  would  never  have  yielded  to 
Adams,  had  he  not  known  that  the  law  was  on  the  side  of 
the  people  and  that  the  soldiers  were  illegal  trespassers  in 
Boston.  Before  sundown  the  order  had  gone  forth  for  the 
removal  of  both  regiments  to  Castle  William,  and  not  until 
then  did  the  meeting  in  the  church  break  up.  From  that 
day  forth  the  fourteenth  and  twenty-ninth  regiments  were 
known  in  Parliament  as  "the  Sam  Adams  regiments." 
Such  was  the  famous  Boston  Massacre.     All  the  mildness 


77o 


THE   CRISIS 


69 


OLD    STATE     HOUSE,    WEST    FRONT 


of  New  England  civilization  is  brought  most  strikingly 
before  us  in  that  truculent  phrase.  The  careless  shooting 
of  half  a  dozen  townsmen  is  described  by  a  word  which 
historians  apply  to  such  events  as  Cawnpore  or  the  Sicilian 
Vespers.  Lord  Sherbrooke,  better  known  as  Robert  Lowe, 
declared  a  few  years  ago,  in  a  speech  on  the  uses  of  a  classi- 


7o  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  ii 

cal  education,  that  the  battle  of  Marathon  was  really  of  less 
account  than  a  modern  colliery  explosion,  because  only  one 
hundred  and  ninety-two  of  the  Greek  army  lost  their  lives  ! 
From  such  a  point  of  view,  one  might  argue  that  the  Boston 
Massacre  was  an  event  of  far  less  importance  than  an  ordi- 
nary free  fight  among  Colorado  gamblers.  It  is  needless  to 
say  that  this  is  not  the  historical  point  of  view.  Historical 
events  are  not  to  be  measured  with  a  foot-rule.  This  story 
Some  les-  of  the  Boston  Massacre  is  a  very  trite  one,  but  it 
«°Mas- the  nas  *ts  lessons-  ft  furnishes  an  instructive  illus- 
sacre"  tration  of  the  high  state  of  civilization  reached  by 
the  people  among  whom  it  happened,  —  by  the  oppressors 
as  well  as  those  whom  it  was  sought  to  oppress.  The 
quartering  of  troops  in  a  peaceful  town  is  something  that 
has  in  most  ages  been  regarded  with  horror.  Under  the 
senatorial  government  of  Rome,  it  used  to  be  said  that 
the  quartering  of  troops,  even  upon  a  friendly  province  and 
for  the  purpose  of  protecting  it,  was  a  visitation  only  less 
to  be  dreaded  than  an  inroad  of  hostile  barbarians.  When 
we  reflect  that  the  British  regiments  were  encamped  in 
Boston  during  seventeen  months,  among  a  population  to 
whom  they  were  thoroughly  odious,  the  fact  that  only  half 
a  dozen  persons  lost  their  lives,  while  otherwise  no  really 
grave  crimes  seem  to  have  been  committed,  is  a  fact  quite 
as  creditable  to  the  discipline  of  the  soldiers  as  to  the 
moderation  of  the  people.  In  most  ages  and  countries,  the 
shooting  of  half  a  dozen  citizens  under  such  circumstances 
would  either  have  produced  but  a  slight  impression,  or,  on 
the  other  hand,  would  perhaps  have  resulted  on  the  spot  in  a 
wholesale  slaughter  of  the  offending  soldiers.  The  fact  that 
so  profound  an  impression  was  made  in  Boston  and  through- 
out the  country,  while  at  the  same  time  the  guilty  parties 
were  left  to  be  dealt  with  in  the  ordinary  course  of  law,  is 
a  striking  commentary  upon  the  general  peacefulness  and 
decorum  of  American  life,  and  it  shows  how  high  and  severe 
was  the  standard  by  which  our  forefathers  judged  all  lawless 
proceedings.     And  here  it  may   not  be  irrelevant  to  add 


i77o  THE   CRISIS  71 

that,  throughout  the  constitutional  struggles  which  led  to 
the  Revolution,  the  American  standard  of  political  right  and 
wrong  was  so  high  that  contemporary  European  politicians 
found  it  sometimes  difficult  to  understand  it.  And  for  a 
like  reason,  even  the  most  fair-minded  English  historians 
sometimes  fail  to  see  why  the  Americans  should  have  been 
so  quick  to  take  offence  at  acts  of  the  British  govern- 
ment which  doubtless  were  not  meant  to  be  oppressive.  If 
George  III.  had  been  a  bloodthirsty  despot,  like  Philip  II. 
of  Spain ;  if  General  Gage  had  been  another  Duke  of  Alva ; 
if  American  citizens  by  the  hundred  had  been  burned  alive 
or  broken  on  the  wheel  in  New  York  and  Boston ;  if  whole 
towns  had  been  given  up  to  the  cruelty  and  lust  of  a  beastly 
soldiery,  then  no  one  —  not  even  Dr.  Johnson — would  have 
found  it  hard  to  understand  why  the  Americans  should  have 
exhibited  a  rebellious  temper.  But  it  is  one  signal  char- 
acteristic of  the  progress  of  political  civilization  that  the 
part  played  by  sheer  brute  force  in  a  barbarous  age  is  fully 
equalled  by  the  part  played  by  a  mere  covert  threat  of 
injustice  in  a  more  advanced  age.  The  effect  which  a  blow 
in  the  face  would  produce  upon  a  barbarian  will  be  wrought 
upon  a  civilized  man  by  an  assertion  of  some  far-reaching 
legal  principle,  which  only  in  a  subtle  and  ultimate  analysis 
includes  the  possibility  of  a  blow  in  the  face.  From  this 
point  of  view,  the  quickness  with  which  such  acts  as  those 
of  Charles  Townshend  were  comprehended  in  their  remotest 
bearings  is  the  most  striking  proof  one  could  wish  of  the 
high  grade  of  political  culture  which  our  forefathers  had 
reached  through  their  system  of  perpetual  free  discussion  in 
town  meeting.  They  had,  moreover,  reached  a  point  where 
any  manifestation  of  brute  force  in  the  course  of  a  political 
dispute  was  exceedingly  disgusting  and  shocking  to  them. 
To  their  minds,  the  careless  slaughter  of  six  citizens  con- 
veyed as  much  meaning  as  a  St.  Bartholomew  massacre 
would  have  conveyed  to  the  minds  of  men  in  a  lower  stage 
of  political  development.  It  was  not  strange,  therefore, 
that  Samuel  Adams  and  his  friends  should  have  been  ready 


72  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  n 

to  make  the  Boston  Massacre  the  occasion  of  a  moral  lesson 
to  their  contemporaries.  As  far  as  the  poor  soldiers  were 
concerned,  the  most  significant  fact  is  that  there  was  no 
attempt  to  wreak  a  paltry  vengeance  on  them.  Brought  to 
trial  on  a  charge  of  murder,  after  a  judicious  delay  of  seven 
months,  they  were  ably  defended  by  John  Adams  and 
Josiah  Quincy,  and  all  were  acquitted  save  two,  who  were 
convicted  of  manslaughter,  and  let  off  with  slight  punish- 
ment. There  were  some  hotheads  who  grumbled  at  the 
verdict,  but  the  people  of  Boston  generally  acquiesced  in  it, 
as  they  showed  by  immediately  choosing  John  Adams  for 
their  representative  in  the  assembly  —  a  fact  which  Mr. 
Lecky  calls  very  remarkable.  Such  an  event  as  the  Boston 
Massacre  could  not  fail  for  a  long  time  to  point  a  moral 
among  a  people  so  unused  to  violence  and  bloodshed.  One 
of  the  earliest  of  American  engravers,  Paul  Revere,  pub- 
lished a  quaint  coloured  engraving  of  the  scene  in  King 
Street,  which  for  a  long  time  was  widely  circulated,  though 
it  has  now  become  very  scarce.  At  the  same  time,  it  was 
decided  that  the  fatal  Fifth  of  March  should  be  solemnly 
commemorated  each  year  by  an  oration  to  be  delivered  in 
the  Old  South  Meeting-House ;  and  this  custom  was  kept 
up  until  the  recognition  of  American  independence  in  1783, 
when  the  day  for  the  oration  was  changed  to  the  Fourth  of 
July. 

Five  weeks   before   the   Boston    Massacre  the  Duke  of 

Grafton  had  resigned,  and  Lord  North  had  become 
North's        prime  minister   of   England.     The  colonies   were 

kept  under  Hillsborough,  and  that  great  friend  of 
arbitrary  government,  Lord  Thurlow,  as  solicitor-general, 
became  the  king's  chief  legal  adviser.  George  III.  was  now, 
to  all  intents  and  purposes,  his  own  prime  minister,  and 
remained  so  until  after  the  overthrow  at  Yorktown.  The 
colonial  policy  of  the  government  soon  became  more  vexa- 
tious than  ever.  The  promised  repeal  of  all  the  Townshend 
acts,  except  the  act  imposing  the  tea-duty,  was  carried 
through  Parliament  in  April,  and  its  first  effect  in  America, 


The  Bloody  Massacre  perpetrated 


jBOSraVonMirAdVijno.by  a  party  of  theg9^REGT 


UnhappyBosToNlfeethySoiv  deplore, 
ThyliallowclWalks  befmear'd  wi*hs«ilt1e<sG<>«>'- 
Wile  fbithlefsP-n  andhisfavageBands, 
With  murd'rou  jTUncourfiretch  IheirbloodyHands, 
LiketfereeBavbarians  gn'miins  o'ertheirfrey; 
ApprovetlteCarnageond  enjoy  the  Day 


If  ftalding  drops  f romRage  from  AnfcuiihVttuns 
If  fpeechl  efs  5  orrows  lab'ring  for  a  Tongue, 
OHfawwpingWorldcari  ought  appeafe 
TheplairiliveOhofls  of  Victims  fuch  asthefe: 
ThePatriotls  copiouslesrs  for  eachare  fhed. 
AalorioiwTribute  -which  embalnu  the  Dead 


But  knowFATEfummonsioihat  yttffl  Goal. 
WbereJuJTicE  flripstheMurd'rerof  hw$oul : 
Should  venalC— ts  die  fcandal  of  the  Land. 
SnatcrHherelentlef/Villain  from  her  Hand. 
Keen  Execrationson  this  Plate  infcrib'd  • 
Shall  reach  aJuocEwho  never  canbe  brib'd. 


&itf&d.QSeb:  rvoc€>ncfear;t4trB  o/tfom,   /Christ."  Mon*.  k  John  Clark)  cM&r£a/&2£    » v 


jyyo  THE    CRISIS  73 

as  Lord  North  had  foreseen,  was  to  weaken  the  spirit  of 
opposition,  and  to  divide  the  more  complaisant  colonies  from 
those  that  were  most  staunch.  The  policy  of  non-importa- 
tion had  pressed  with  special  severity  upon  the  commerce 
of  New  York,  and  the  merchants  there  complained  that 
the  fire-eating  planters  of  Virginia  and  farmers  of  Massa- 
chusetts were  growing  rich  at  the  expense  of  their  neigh- 
bours.    In  July,  the  New  York  merchants  broke    _ 

■*      J  \  The  mer- 

the  non-importation  agreement,  and  sent  orders  to  chants  of 
England  for  all  sorts  of  merchandise  except  tea. 
Such  a  measure,  on  the  part  of  so  great  a  seaport,  virtually 
overthrew  the  non-importation  policy,  upon  which  the  pa- 
triots mainly  relied  to  force  the  repeal  of  the  Tea  Act.  The 
wrath  of  the  other  colonies  was  intense.  At  the  Boston 
town  meeting  the  letter  of  the  New  York  merchants  was 
torn  in  pieces.  In  New  Jersey,  the  students  of  Princeton 
College,  James  Madison  being  one  of  the  number,  assembled 
on  the  green  in  their  black  gowns  and  solemnly  burned  the 
letter,  while  the  church-bells  were  tolled.  The  offending 
merchants  were  stigmatized  as  "  Revolters,"  and  in  Charles- 
ton their  conduct  was  vehemently  denounced.  "  You  had 
better  send  us  your  old  liberty-pole,"  said  Philadelphia  to 
New  York,  with  bitter  sarcasm,  "for  you  clearly  have  no 
further  use  for  it." 

This  breaking  of  the  non-importation  agreement  by  New 
York  left  no  general  issue  upon  which  the  colonies  could  be 
sure  to  unite  unless  the  ministry  should  proceed  to  force  an 
issue  upon  the  Tea  Act.  For  the  present,  Lord  North  saw 
the  advantage  he  had  gained,  and  was  not  inclined  to  take 
any  such  step.  Nevertheless,  as  just  observed,  the  policy 
of  the  government  soon  became  more  vexatious  than  ever. 
In  the  summer  of  1770,  the  king  entered  upon  a  series  of 
local  quarrels  with  the  different  colonies,  taking  care  not  to 
raise  any  general  issue.  Royal  instructions  were  Assemblies 
sent  over  to  the  different  governments,  enjoining  Estrange 
courses  of  action  which  were  unconstitutional  and  Places 
sure  to  offend  the  people.     The  assemblies  were  either  dis- 


74  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  ii 

solved,  or  convened  at  strange  places,  as  at  Beaufort  in  South 
Carolina,  more  than  seventy  miles  from  the  capital,  or  at 
Cambridge  in  Massachusetts.  The  local  governments  were 
as  far  as  possible  ignored,  and  local  officers  were  appointed, 
with  salaries  to  be  paid  by  the  Crown.  In  Massachusetts, 
these  officers  were  illegally  exempted  from  the  payment  of 
taxes.  In  Maryland,  where  the  charter  had  expressly  pro- 
Taxes  in  vided  that  no  taxes  could  ever  be  levied  by  the 
Maryland  British  Crown,  the  governor  was  ordered  to  levy 
taxes  indirectly  by  reviving  a  law  regulating  officers'  fees, 
which  had  expired  by  lapse  of  time.  In  North  Carolina, 
excessive  fees  were  extorted,  and  the  sheriffs  in  many  cases 
collected  taxes  of  which  they  rendered  no  account.  The 
upper  counties  of  both  the  Carolinas  were  peopled  by  a  hardy 
set  of  small  farmers  and  herdsmen,  Presbyterians,  of  Scotch- 
Irish  pedigree,  who  were  known  by  the  name  of  "  Regula- 
tors," because,  under  the  exigencies  of  their  rough  frontier 
life,  they  formed  voluntary  associations  for  the  regulation 
of  their  own  police  and  the  condign  punishment  of  horse- 
The  North  thieves  and  other  criminals.  In  1771,  the  North 
"Reguia-  Carolina  Regulators,  goaded  by  repeated  acts  of 
tors "  extortion  and  of  unlawful  imprisonment,  rose  in  re- 

bellion. A  battle  was  fought  at  Alamance,  near  the  head- 
waters of  the  Cape  Fear  river,  in  which  the  Regulators  were 
totally  defeated  by  Governor  Tryon,  leaving  more  than  a 

hundred  of  their  number  dead 
and  wounded  upon  the  field : 
A-yn  and  six  of  their  leaders,  taken 
"  rv*>  prisoners,  were  summarily 
hanged  for  treason.  After  this 
achievement  Tryon  was  pro- 
moted to  the  governorship  of  New  York,  where  he  left  his 
name  for  a  time  upon  the  vaguely  denned  wilderness  beyond 
Schenectady,  known  in  the  literature  of  the  Revolutionary 
War  as  Tryon  County. 

In   Rhode  Island,  the  eight -gun  schooner  Gaspee,  com- 
manded 'by  Lieutenant  Duddington,  was  commissioned  to 


1772 


THE   CRISIS 


75 


enforce  the  revenue  acts  along  the  coasts  of  Narragansett 
Bay,  and  she  set  about  the  work  with  reckless  Affair  of 
and  indiscriminating  zeal.  " Thorough"  was  Dud-  theGasPee 
dington's  motto,  as  it  was  Lord  Strafford's.  He  not  only 
stopped  and  searched  every  vessel  that  entered  the  bay,  and 
seized  whatever  goods  he  pleased,  whether  there  was  any 


A/LAl* 


evidence  of  their  being  contraband  or  not,  but,  besides  this, 
he  stole  the  sheep  and  hogs  of  the  farmers  near  the  coast, 
cut  down  their  trees,  fired  upon  market-boats,  and  behaved 
in  general  with  unbearable  insolence.  In  March,  1 772,  the 
people  of  Rhode  Island  complained  of  these  outrages.  The 
matter  was  referred  to  Rear-Admiral  Montagu,  commanding 
the  little  fleet  in  Boston  harbour.  Montagu  declared  that 
the  lieutenant  was  only  doing  his  duty,  and  threatened  the 
Rhode  Island  people  in  case  they  should  presume  to  inter- 
fere.    For  three  months  longer  the  Gaspee  kept  up  her 


76  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  n 

irritating  behaviour,  until  one  evening  in  June,  while  chasing 
a  swift  American  ship,  she  ran  aground.  The  following 
night  she  was  attacked  by  a  party  of  men  in  eight  boats,  and 
captured  after  a  short  skirmish,  in  which  Duddington  was 
severely  wounded.  The  crew  was  set  on  shore,  and  the 
schooner  was  burned  to  the  water's  edge.  This  act  of  re- 
prisal was  not  relished  by  the  government,  and  large  rewards 
were  offered  for  the  arrest  of  the  men  concerned  in  it ;  but 
although  probably  everybody  knew  who  they  were,  it  was 
impossible  to  obtain  any  evidence  against  them.  By  a  royal 
order  in  council,  the  Rhode  Island  government  was  com- 
manded to  arrest  the  offenders  and  deliver  them  to  Rear- 
Admiral  Montagu,  to  be  taken  over  to  England  for  trial ; 
but  Stephen  Hopkins,  the  venerable  chief  justice  of  Rhode 
Island,  flatly  refused  to  take  cognizance  of  any  such  arrest  if 
made  within  the  colony. 

The  black  thunder-clouds  of  war  now  gathered  quickly. 

In  August,  1 772,  the  king  ventured  upon  an  act  which  went 

further  than  anything  that  had  yet  occurred  toward 

lies  of  the     hastening  on  the  crisis.     It  was  ordered  that  all 

iudsrcs 

the  Massachusetts  judges,  holding  their  places  dur- 
ing the  king's  pleasure,  should  henceforth  have  their  sala- 
ries paid  by  the  Crown,  and  not  by  the  colony.  This  act, 
which  aimed  directly  at  the  independence  of  the  judiciary, 
aroused  intense  indignation.  The  people  of  Massachusetts 
were  furious,  and  Samuel  Adams  now  took  a  step  which 
contributed  more  than  anything  that  had  yet  been  done 
toward  organizing  the  opposition  to  the  king  throughout 
the  whole  country.  The  idea  of  establishing  committees 
of  correspondence  was  not  wholly  new.  The  great  preacher 
Jonathan  Mayhew  had  recommended  such  a  step  to  James 
Otis  in  1766,  and  he  was  led  to  it  through  his  experience 
of  church  matters.     Writing  in  haste,  on  a  Sunday  morning, 

he  said,  "To  a  good  man  all  time  is  holy  enough  ; 
Mayhew's  and  none  is  too  holy  to  do  good,  or  to  think  upon 
sugges  ion  .^  Cultivating  a  good  understanding  and  hearty 
friendship  between  these  colonies  appears  to  me  so  neces- 


1772 


THE   CRISIS 


77 


sary  a  part  of  prudence  and  good  policy  that  no  favourable 
opportunity  for  that  purpose  should  be  omitted.  .  .  .  You 
have  heard  of  the  communion  of  churches :  .  .  .  while  I 
was  thinking  of  this  in  my  bed,  the  great  use  and  importance 
of  a  communion  of  colonies  appeared  to  me  in  a  strong  light, 
which  led  me  immediately  to  set  down  these  hints  to  trans- 
mit to  you."     The  plan  which   May  hew  had  in  mind  was 


the  establishment  of  a  regular  system  of  correspondence 
whereby  the  colonies  could  take  combined  action  in  defence 
of  their  liberties.  In  the  grand  crisis  of  1772,  Samuel 
Adams  saw  how  much  might  be  effected  through  commit- 
tees  of   correspondence   that   could   not   well   be   effected 


78  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap  n 

through  the  ordinary  governmental  machinery  of  the  colo- 
nies. At  the  October  town  meeting  in  Boston,  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  ask  the  governor  whether  the  judges' 
salaries  were  to  be  paid  in  conformity  to  the  royal  order ; 
and  he  was  furthermore  requested  to  convoke  the  assembly, 
in  order  that  the  people  might  have  a  chance  to  express  their 
views  on  so  important  a  matter.  But  Hutchinson  told  the 
committee  to  mind  its  own  business  :  he  refused  to  say  what 
would  be  done  about  the  salaries,  and  denied  the  right  of 
the  town  to  petition  for  a  meeting  of  the  assembly.  Massa- 
chusetts was  thus  virtually  without  a  general  government  at 
a  moment  when  the  public  mind  was  agitated  by  a  question 
of  supreme  importance.  Samuel  Adams  thereupon  in  town 
meeting  moved  the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  corre- 
spondence, "to  consist  of  twenty-one  persons,  to  state  the 
rights  of  the  colonists  and  of  this  province  in  particular,  as 
The  com-  men  and  Christians  and  as  subjects;  and  to  com- 
correYpond-  municate  and  publish  the  same  to  the  several  towns 
ence  in         an(j  t0  t^e  wor\d  as  the  sense  of  this  town,  with 

Massachu- 
setts the  infringements  and  violations  thereof  that  have 

been,  or  from  time  to  time  may  be,  made."  The  adoption 
of  this  measure  at  first  excited  the  scorn  of  Hutchinson, 
who  described  the  committee  as  composed  of  "deacons," 
"atheists,"  and  "black-hearted  fellows,"  whom  one  would 
not  care  to  meet  in  the  dark.  He  predicted  that  they  would 
only  make  themselves  ridiculous,  but  he  soon  found  reason 
to  change  his  mind.  The  response  to  the  statements  of  the 
Boston  committee  was  prompt  and  unanimous,  and  before 
the  end  of  the  year  more  than  eighty  towns  had  already 
organized  their  committees  of  correspondence.  Here  was  a 
new  legislative  body,  springing  directly  from  the  people,  and 
competent,  as  events  soon  showed,  to  manage  great  affairs. 
Its  influence  reached  into  every  remotest  corner  of  Massa- 
chusetts, it  was  always  virtually  in  session,  and  no  governor 
could  dissolve  or  prorogue  it.  Though  unknown  to  the  law, 
the  creation  of  it  involved  no  violation  of  law.  The  right 
of  the  towns  of  Massachusetts  to  ask  one  another's  advice 


1773  THE   CRISIS  79 

could  no  more  be  disputed  than  the  right  of  the  freemen  of 
any  single  town  to  hold  a  town  meeting.  The  power  thus 
created  was  omnipresent,  but  intangible.  "  This,"  said 
Daniel  Leonard,  the  great  Tory  pamphleteer,  two  years 
afterwards,  "  is  the  foulest, 

subtlest,  and  most  venom-         £j#  T/  O 

ous    serpent   ever    issued      f*Zs  G^vy/OC^f1^0^ 
from  the  egg  of  sedition. 

It  is  the  source  of  the  rebellion.  I  saw  the  small  seed  when 
it  was  planted  :  it  was  a  grain  of  mustard.  I  have  watched 
the  plant  until  it  has  become  a  great  tree.  The  vilest  rep- 
tiles that  crawl  upon  the  earth  are  concealed  at  the  root ; 
the  foulest  birds  of  the  air  rest  upon  its  branches.  I  would 
now  induce  you  to  go  to  work  immediately  with  axes  and 
hatchets  and  cut  it  down,  for  a  twofold  reason,  —  because 
it  is  a  pest  to  society,  and  lest  it  be  felled  suddenly  by  a 
stronger  arm,  and  crush  its  thousands  in  its  fall." 

The  system  of  committees  of  correspondence  did  indeed 
grow  into  a  mighty  tree ;  for  it  was  nothing  less   Intercolo. 
than    the    beginning    of    the    American    Union,    niaicom- 

a   -i  •«,*•»  •  it  r-  mittees  of 

Adams  himself  by  no  means  intended  to  confine  con-espond- 
his  plan  to  Massachusetts,  for  in  the  following  ence 
April  he  wrote  to  Richard  Henry  Lee  of  Virginia  urging 
the  establishment  of  similar  committees  in  every  colony. 
But  Virginia  had  already  acted  in  the  matter.  When  its 
assembly  met  in  March,  1773,  the  news  of  the  refusal  of 
Hopkins  to  obey  the  royal  order,  of  the  attack  upon  the 
Massachusetts  judiciary,  and  of  the  organization  of  the  com- 
mittees of  correspondence  was  the  all-exciting  subject  of 
conversation.  The  motion  to  establish  a  system  of  inter- 
colonial committees  of  correspondence  was  made  by  the 
youthful  Dabney  Carr,  and  eloquently  supported  by  Pat- 
rick Henry  and  Richard  Henry  Lee.  It  was  unanimously 
adopted,  and  very  soon  several  other  colonies  elected  com- 
mittees, in  response  to  the  invitation  from  Virginia. 

This  was  the  most  decided  step  toward  revolution  that 
had  yet  been  taken  by  the  Americans.     It  only  remained 


80  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  ii 

for  the  various  intercolonial  committees  to  assemble  together, 
and  there  would  be  a  Congress  speaking  in  the  name  of  the 
continent.  To  bring  about  such  an  act  of  union,  nothing 
more  was  needed  than  some  fresh  course  of  aggression  ort 
the  part  of  the  British  government  which  should  raise  a  gen- 
eral issue  in  all  the  colonies  ;  and,  with  the  rare  genius  for 
blundering  which  had  possessed  it  ever  since  the  accession 
of  George  III.,  the  government  now  went  on  to  provide  such 
an  issue.  It  was  preeminently  a  moment  when  the  question 
of  taxation  should  have  been  let  alone.  Throughout  the 
American  world  there  was  a  strong  feeling  of  irritation, 
which  might  still  have  been  allayed  had  the  ministry  shown 
a  yielding  temper.  The  grounds  of  complaint  had  come 
to  be  different  in  the  different  colonies,  and  in  some  cases, 
in  which  we  can  clearly  see  the  good  sense  of  Lord  North 
prevailing  over  the  obstinacy  of  the  king,  the  ministry  had 
gained  a  point  by  yielding.  In  the  Rhode  Island  case,  they 
had  seized  a  convenient  opportunity  and  let  the  matter  drop, 
Theques-  to  the  manifest  advantage  of  their  position.  In 
taxation  Massachusetts,  the  discontent  had  come  to  be 
revived  alarming,  and  it  was  skilfully  organized.  The  as- 
sembly had  offered  the  judges  their  salaries  in  the  usual 
form,  and  had  threatened  to  impeach  them  if  they  should 
dare  to  accept  a  penny  from  the  Crown.  The  recent  action 
of  Virginia  had  shown  that  these  two  most  powerful  of  the 
colonies  were  in  strong  sympathy  with  one  another.  It  was 
just  this  moment  that  George  III.  chose  for  reviving  the 
question  of  taxation,  upon  which  all  the  colonies  would  be 
sure  to  act  as  a  unit,  and  sure  to  withstand  him  to  his  face. 
The  duty  on  tea  had  been  retained  simply  as  a  matter  of 
principle.  It  did  not  bring  three  hundred  pounds  a  year 
into  the  British  exchequer.  But  the  king  thought  this  a 
favourable  time  for  asserting  the  obnoxious  principle  which 
the  tax  involved. 

Thus,  as  in  Mrs.  Gamp's  case,  a  teapot  became  the  cause 
or  occasion  of  a  division  between  friends.  The  measures 
now  taken  by  the  government  brought  matters  at  once  to  a 


I773  THE   CRISIS  81 

crisis.     None  of  the  colonies  would  take  tea  on  its  terms. 
Lord  Hillsborough  had  lately  been  superseded  as  colonial 
secretary  by    Lord    Dartmouth,  an   amiable  man  like   the 
prime    minister,    but    like 
him  wholly  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  king.     Lord 
Dartmouth's  appointment 
was  made  the  occasion  of 
introducing  a  series  of  new 

measures.  The  affairs  of  the  East  India  Company  were  in 
a  bad  condition,  and  it  was  thought  that  the  trouble  was 
partly  due  to  the  loss  of  the  American  trade  in  tea.  The 
Americans  would  not  buy  tea  shipped  from  England,  but 
they  smuggled  it  freely  from  Holland,  and  the  smuggling 
could  not  be  stopped  by  mere  force.  The  best  way  to 
obviate  the  difficulty,  it  was  thought,  would  be  to  make 
English  tea  cheaper  in  America  than  foreign  tea,  while  still 
retaining  the  duty  of  threepence  on  a  pound.  •  If  this  could 
be  achieved,  it  was  supposed  that  the  Americans  would  be 
sure  to  buy  English  tea  by  reason  of  its  cheapness,  and 
would  thus  be  ensnared  into  admitting  the  principle  involved 
in  the  duty.     This  ingenious  scheme  shows  how   _   _.    , 

lilt*  -i   i  •  •    •  •  •  The  king's 

unable  the  king  and  his  ministers  were  to  imagine  ingenious 
that  the  Americans  could  take  a  higher  view  of  the 
matter  than  that  of  pounds,  shillings,  and  pence.  In  order 
to  enable  the  East  India  Company  to  sell  its  tea  cheap  in 
America,  a  drawback  was  allowed  of  all  the  duties  which 
such  tea  had  been  wont  to  pay  on  entering  England  on  its 
way  from  China.  In  this  way,  the  Americans  would  now 
find  it  actually  cheaper  to  buy  the  English  tea  with  the  duty 
on  it  than  to  smuggle  their  tea  from  Holland.  To  this 
scheme,  Lord  North  said,  it  was  of  no  use  for  any  one  to 
offer  objections,  for  the  king  would  have  it  so.  "The  king 
meant  to  try  the  question  with  America."  In  accordance 
with  this  policy,  several  ships  loaded  with  tea  set  sail  in  the 
autumn  of  1773  for  the  four  principal  ports,  Boston,  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  and  Charleston.     Agents  or  consignees 


82  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  n 

of  the  East  India  Company  were  appointed  by  letter  to 
receive  the  tea  in  these  four  towns. 

As  soon  as  the  details  of  this  scheme  were  known  in 
America,  the  whole  country  was  in  a  blaze,  from  Maine  to 
Georgia.  Nevertheless,  only  legal  measures  of  resistance 
were  contemplated.  In  Philadelphia,  a  great  meeting  was 
held  in  October  at  the  State  House,  and  it  was  voted  that 
whosoever  should  lend  countenance  to  the  receiving  or  un- 
loading of  the  tea  would  be  regarded  as  an  enemy  to  his 
country.  The  consignees  were  then  requested  to  resign 
their  commissions,  and  did  so.  In  New  York  and  Charles- 
How  Bos-  ton,  also,  the  consignees  threw  up  their  commis- 
the  battle^  si°ns-  ^n  Boston,  a  similar  demand  was  made,  but 
ground  the  consignees  doggedly  refused  to  resign ;  and  thus 
the  eyes  of  the  whole  country  were  directed  toward  Boston 
as  the  battlefield  on  which  the  great  issue  was  to  be  tried. 

During  the  month  of  November  many  town  meetings  were 
held  in  Faneuil  Hall.  On  the  17th,  authentic  intelligence 
was  brought  that  the  tea-ships  would  soon  arrive.  The  next 
day,  a  committee,  headed  by  Samuel  Adams,  waited  upon 
the  consignees,  and  again  asked  them  to  resign.  Upon  their 
refusal,  the  town  meeting  instantly  dissolved  itself,  without 
a  word  of  comment  or  debate ;  and  at  this  ominous  silence 
the  consignees  and  the  governor  were  filled  with  a  vague 
sense  of  alarm,  as  if  some  storm  were  brewing  whereof  none 
could  foresee  the  results.  All  felt  that  the  decision  now 
rested  with  the  committees  of  correspondence.  Four  days 
afterward,  the  committees  of  Cambridge,  Brookline,  Rox- 
bury,  and  Dorchester  met  the  Boston  committee  at  Faneuil 
m    _  Hall,  and  it  was  unanimously  resolved  that  on  no 

The  five  J 

towns  ask  account  should  the  tea  be  landed.  The  five  towns 
also  sent  a  letter  to  all  the  other  towns  in  the  col- 
ony, saying,  "  Brethren,  we  are  reduced  to  this  dilemma : 
either  to  sit  down  quiet  under  this  and  every  other  burden 
that  our  enemies  shall  see  fit  to  lay  upon  us,  or  to  rise  up 
and  resist  this  and  every  plan  laid  for  our  destruction,  as 
becomes  wise   freemen.      In  this    extremity  we   earnestly 


84  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  ii 

request  your  advice."  There  was  nothing  weak  or  doubtful 
in  the  response.  From  Petersham  and  Lenox  perched  on 
their  lofty  hilltops,  from  the  valleys  of  the  Connecticut  and 
the  Merrimack,  from  Chatham  on  the  bleak  peninsula  of 
Cape  Cod,  there  came  but  one  message, — to  give  up  life 
and  all  that  makes  life  dear,  rather  than  submit  like  slaves 
to  this  great  wrong.  Similar  words  of  encouragement  came 
from  other  colonies.  In  Philadelphia,  at  the  news  of  the 
bold  stand  Massachusetts  was  about  to  take,  the  church- 
bells  were  rung,  and  there  was  general  rejoicing  about  the 
streets.  A  letter  from  the  men  of  Philadelphia  to  the  men 
of  Boston  said,  "  Our  only  fear  is  lest  you  may  shrink.  May 
God  give  you  virtue  enough  to  save  the  liberties  of  your 
country." 

On  Sunday,  the  28th,  the  Dartmouth,  first  of  the  tea- 
ships,  arrived  in  the  harbour.  The  urgency  of  the  business 
in  hand  overcame  the  Sabbatarian  scruples  of  the  people. 
The  committee  of  correspondence  met  at  once,  and  obtained 
Arrival  of  fr°m  Francis  Rotch,  the  owner  of  the  vessel,  a 
the  tea;  promise  that  the  ship  should  not  be  entered  be- 
theoid  fore  Tuesday.  Samuel  Adams  then  invited  the 
committees  of  the  five  towns,  to  which  Charles- 
town  was  now  added,  to  hold  a  mass-meeting  the  next  morn- 
ing at  Faneuil  Hall.  More  than  five  thousand  people  as- 
sembled, but  as  the  Cradle  of  Liberty  could  not  hold  so 
many,  the  meeting  was  adjourned  to  the  Old  South  Meet- 
ing-House.  It  was  voted,  without  a  single  dissenting  voice, 
that  the  tea  should  be  sent  back  to  England  in  the  ship 
which  had  brought  it.  Rotch  was  forbidden  to  enter  the 
ship  at  the  Custom  House,  and  Captain  Hall,  the  ship's  mas- 
ter, was  notified  that  "  it  was  at  his  peril  if  he  suffered  any 
of  the  tea  brought  by  him  to  be  landed."  A  night-watch 
of  twenty-five  citizens  was  set  to  guard  the  vessel,  and  so 
the  meeting  adjourned  till  next  day,  when  it  was  understood 
that  the  consignees  would  be  ready  to  make  some  proposals 
in  the  matter.  Next  day,  the  message  was  brought  from 
the  consignees  that  it  was  out  of  their  power  to  send  back 


1773  THE    CRISIS  85 

the  tea ;  but  if  it  should  be  landed,  they  declared  themselves 
willing  to  store  it,  and  not  expose  any  of  it  for  sale  until  word 
could  be  had  from  England.  Before  action  could  be  taken 
upon  this  message,  the  sheriff  of  Suffolk  county  entered  the 
church  and  read  a  proclamation  from  the  governor,  warning 
the  people  to  disperse  and  "surcease  all  further  unlawful 
proceedings  at  their  utmost  peril."  A  storm  of  hisses  was 
the  only  reply,  and  the  business  of  the  meeting  went  on. 
The  proposal  of  the  consignees  was  rejected,  and  Rotch  and 
Hall,  being  present,  were  made  to  promise  that  the  tea 
should  go  back  to  England  in  the  Dartmouth,  without  being 
landed  or  paying  duty.  Resolutions  were  then  passed,  for- 
bidding all  owners  or  masters  of  ships  to  bring  any  tea  from 
Great  Britain  to  any  part  of  Massachusetts,  so  long  as  the 
act  imposing  a  duty  on  it  remained  unrepealed.  Whoever 
should  disregard  this  injunction  would  be  treated  as  an 
enemy  to  his  country,  his  ships  would  be  prevented  from 
landing  —  by  force,  if  necessary  —  and  his  tea  would  be  sent 
back  to  the  place  whence  it  came.  It  was  further  voted  that 
the  citizens  of  Boston  and  the  other  towns  here  assembled 
would  see  that  these  resolutions  were  carried  into  effect,  "  at 
the  risk  of  their  lives  and  property."  Notice  of  these  reso- 
lutions was  sent  to  the  owners  of  the  other  ships,  now  daily 
expected.  And,  to  crown  all,  a  committee,  of  which  Adams 
was  chairman,  was  appointed  to  send  a  printed  copy  of  these 
proceedings  to  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  to  every  sea- 
port in  Massachusetts,  and  to  the  British  government. 

Two  or  three  days  after  this  meeting,  the  other  two  ships 
arrived,   and,  under  orders  from   the  committee  of   corre- 
spondence, were  anchored  by  the  side  of  the  Dartmouth, 
at  Griffin's  Wharf,  near  the  foot  of  Pearl  Street.    A  military 
watch  was  kept  at  the  wharf  day  and  night,  sentinels  were 
placed  in  the  church  belfries,  chosen  post-riders,  with  horses 
saddled  and  bridled,  were  ready  to  alarm  the  neigh-   The  tea- 
bouring  towns,  beacon-fires  were  piled  all  ready  for   Sjj^j  un_ 
lighting  upon  every  hilltop,   and  any  attempt  to   der  guard 
land  the  tea   forcibly  would  have   been  the  signal  for  an 


86 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  II 


instant  uprising  throughout  at  least  four 
counties.  Now,  in  accordance  with  the 
laws  providing  for  the  entry  and  clearance 
of  shipping  at  custom  houses,  it  was  ne- 
cessary that  every  ship  should  land  its 
cargo  within  twenty  days  from  its  arrival. 
In  case  this  was  not  done,  the  revenue 
officers  were  authorized  to  seize  the  ship 
and  land  its  cargo  themselves.  In  the  case 
of  the  Dartmouth, 
the  captain  had 
promised  to  take 
her  back  to  Eng- 
land without  un- 
loading ;  but  still, 
before  she  could 
legally  start,  she 
must  obtain  a  clear- 
ance from  the  col- 
lector of  customs, 
or,  in  default  of 
this,  a  pass  from 
the  governor.  At 
sunrise  of  Friday, 
the  17th  of  Decem- 
ber, the  twenty  days 
would  have  expired. 
On  Saturday,  the  nth,  Rotch  was  summoned  before  the 
committee  of  correspondence,  and  Samuel  Adams  asked 
him  why  he  had  not  kept  his  promise,  and  started  his  ship 
off  for  England.  He  sought  to  excuse  himself  on  the 
ground  that  he  had  not  the  power  to  do  so,  whereupon  he 
was  told  that  he  must  apply  to  the  collector  for  a  clearance. 
Hearing  of  these  things,  the  governor  gave  strict  orders  at 
the  Castle  to  fire  upon  any  vessel  trying  to  get  out  to  sea 
without  a  proper  permit ;  and  two  ships  from  Montagu's 
fleet,  which  had  been  laid  up  for  the  winter,  were  stationed 


THE    OLD   SOUTH    MEETING-HOUSE 


1773 


THE    CRISIS 


87 


at  the  entrance  of  the  harbour,  to  make  sure  against  the 
Dartmouth's  going  out.  Tuesday  came,  and  Rotch,  having 
done  nothing,  was  summoned  before  the  town  meeting,  and 
peremptorily  ordered  to  apply  for  a  clearance.  Samuel 
Adams  and  nine  other  gentlemen  accompanied  him  to  the 
Custom  House  to  witness  the  proceedings,  but  the  collector 
refused  to  give  an  answer  until  the  next  day.  The  meeting 
then  adjourned  till  Thursday,  the  last  of  the  twenty  days. 
On  Wednesday  morning,  Rotch  was  again  escorted  to  the 
Custom  House,  and  the  collector  refused  to  give  a  clearance 
unless  the  tea  should  first  be  landed. 

On  the  morning  of  Thursday,  December  16th,  the  assem- 
bly which  was  gathered  in  the  Old  South  Meeting-House, 


TABLE   AND    CHAIR    FROM    GOVERNOR    HUTCHINSON'S    HOUSE    AT    MILTON 


and  in  the  streets  about  it,  numbered  more  than  seven 
thousand  people.  It  was  to  be  one  of  the  most  momentous 
days  in  the  history  of  the  world.  The  clearance  having 
been  refused,  nothing  now  remained  but  to  order  Rotch  to 
request  a  pass  for  his  ship  from  the  governor.  But  Town 
the  wary  Hutchinson,  well  knowing  what  was  about  SJeOi!  at 
to  be  required  of  him,  had  gone  out  to  his  country  South 
house  at  Milton,  so  as  to  foil  the  proceedings  by  his  absence. 
But  the  meeting  was  not  to  be  so  trifled  with.  Rotch  was 
enjoined,  on  his  peril,  to  repair  to  the  governor  at  Milton, 
and  ask  for  his  pass ;  and  while  he  was  gone,  the  meeting 


SS  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  n 

considered  what  was  to  be  done  in  case  of  a  refusal.  With- 
out a  pass  it  would  be  impossible  for  the  ship  to  clear  the 
harbour  under  the  guns  of  the  Castle ;  and  by  sunrise,  next 
morning,  the  revenue  officers  would  be  empowered  to  seize 
the  ship,  and  save  by  a  violent  assault  upon  them  it  would 
be  impossible  to  prevent  the  landing  of  the  tea.  "Who 
knows,"  said  John  Rowe,  "how  tea  will  mingle  with  salt 
water  ? "  And  great  applause  followed  the  suggestion.  Yet 
the  plan  which  was  to  serve  as  a  last  resort  had  unques- 
tionably been  adopted  in  secret  committee  long  before  this. 
It  appears  to  have  been  worked  out  in  detail  in  a  little  back 
room  at  the  office  of  the  "Boston  Gazette,"  and  there  is  no 
doubt  that  Samuel  Adams,  with  some  others  of  the  popular 
leaders,  had  a  share  in  devising  it.  But  among  the  thou- 
sands present  at  the  town  meeting,  it  is  probable  that  very 
few  knew  just  what  it  was  designed  to  do.  At  five  in  the 
afternoon,  it  was  unanimously  voted  that,  come  what  would, 
the  tea  should  not  be  landed.  It  had  now  grown  dark,  and 
the  church  was  dimly  lighted  with  candles.  Determined  not 
to  act  until  the  last  legal  method  of  relief  should  have  been 
tried  and  found  wanting,  the  great  assembly  was  still  wait- 
ing quietly  in  and  about  the  church  when,  an  hour  after 
nightfall,  Rotch  returned  from  Milton  with  the  governor's 
refusal.  Then,  amid  profound  stillness,  Samuel  Adams 
arose  and  said,  quietly  but  distinctly,  "  This  meeting  can  do 
nothing  more  to  save  the  country."  It  was  the  declaration 
of  war ;  the  law  had  shown  itself  unequal  to  the  occasion, 
and  nothing  now  remained  but  a  direct  appeal  to  force. 
Scarcely  had  the  watchword  left  his  mouth  when  a  war- 
whoop  answered  from  outside  the  door,  and  fifty  men  in  the 
guise  of  Mohawk  Indians  passed  quickly  by  the  entrance, 
The  tea  and  hastened  to  Griffin's  Wharf.  Before  the  nine 
into X  o'clock  bell  rang,  the  three  hundred  and  forty-two 
harbour  chests  of  tea  laden  upon  the  three  ships  had  been 
cut  open,  and  their  contents  emptied  into  the  sea.  Not  a 
person  was  harmed  ;  no  other  property  was  injured ;  and 
the  vast  crowd,  looking  upon  the  scene  from  the  wharf  in 


1773  THE    CRISIS  89 

the  clear  frosty  moonlight,  was  so  still  that  the  click  of 
the  hatchets  could  be  distinctly  heard.  Next  morning,  the 
salted  tea,  as  driven  by  wind  and  wave,  lay  in  long  rows  on 
Dorchester  beach,  while  Paul  Revere,  booted  and  spurred, 
was  riding  post-haste  to  Philadelphia,  with  the  glorious 
news  that  Boston  had  at  last  thrown  down  the  gauntlet  for 
the  king  of  England  to  pick  up. 

This   heroic  action  of   Boston  was  greeted  with  public 


o/ir&vt  tfwslmvJ 


rejoicing  throughout  all  the  thirteen  colonies,  and  the  other 
principal  seaports  were  not  slow  to  follow  the  example.  A 
ship  laden  with  two  hundred  and  fifty-seven  chests  of  tea 
had  arrived  at  Charleston  on  the  2d  of  December ;  but  the 
consignees  had  resigned,  and  after  twenty  days  the  ship's 


90  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  ii 

cargo  was  seized  and  landed ;  and  so,  as  there  was  no  one 
to  receive  it,  or  pay  the  duty,  it  was  thrown  into  a  damp 
cellar,  where  it  spoiled.  In  Philadelphia,  on  the  25th,  a 
ship  arrived  with  tea ;  but  a  meeting  of  five  thousand  men 
forced  the  consignees  to  resign,  and  the  captain  straightway 
set  sail  for  England,  the  ship  having  been  stopped  before  it 
had  come  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  custom  house. 

In  Massachusetts,  the  exultation  knew  no  bounds.  "  This," 
said  John  Adams,  "is  the  most  magnificent  movement  of 
all.  There  is  a  dignity,  a  majesty,  a  sublimity,  in  this  last 
effort  of  the  patriots  that  I  greatly  admire."  Indeed,  often 
Grandeur  as  it  has  been  cited  and  described,  the  Boston  Tea 
Boston  Tea  Party  was  an  event  so  great  that  even  American 
Party  historians  have  generally  failed  to   do  it   justice. 

This  supreme  assertion  by  a  New  England  town  meeting  of 
the  most  fundamental  principle  of  political  freedom  has  been 
curiously  misunderstood  by  British  writers,  of  whatever 
party.  The  most  recent  Tory  historian,  Mr.  Lecky,1  speaks 
of  "the  Tea-riot  at  Boston,"  and  characterizes  it  as  an 
"outrage."  The  most  recent  Liberal  historian,  Mr.  Green, 
alludes  to  it  as  "a  trivial  riot."  Such  expressions  betray 
most  profound  misapprehension  alike  of  the  significance  of 
this  noble  scene  and  of  the  political  conditions  in  which  it 
originated.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  defining  a  riot.  The 
pages  of  history  teem  with  accounts  of  popular  tumults, 
wherein  passion  breaks  loose  and  wreaks  its  fell  purpose, 
unguided  and  unrestrained  by  reason.  No  definition  could 
be  further  from  describing  the  colossal  event  which  occurred 
in  Boston  on  the  16th  of  December,  1773.  Here  passion 
was  guided  and  curbed  by  sound  reason  at  every  step,  down 
to  the  last  moment,  in  the  dim  candle-light  of  the  old 
church,  when  the  noble  Puritan  statesman  quietly  told  his 
hearers  that  the  moment  for  using  force  had  at  last,  and 
through  no  fault  of  theirs,  arrived.  They  had  reached  a 
point  where  the  written  law  had  failed  them ;  and  in  their 

1  In  his  account  of  the  American  Revolution,  Mr.  Lecky  inclines  to 
the  Tory  side,  but  he  is  eminently  fair  and  candid. 


i774  THE   CRISIS  91 

effort  to  defend  the  eternal  principles  of  natural  justice, 
they  were  now  most  reluctantly  compelled  to  fall  back  upon 
the  paramount  law  of  self-preservation.  It  was  the  one 
supreme  moment  in  a  controversy  supremely  important  to 
mankind,  and  in  which  the  common-sense  of  the  world  has 
since  acknowledged  that  they  were  wholly  in  the  right.  It 
was  the  one  moment  of  all  that  troubled  time  in  which  no 
compromise  was  possible.  "Had  the  tea  been  landed," 
says  the  contemporary  historian,  William  Gordon,  "  the  union 
of  the  colonies  in  opposing  the  ministerial  scheme  would 
have  been  dissolved ;  and  it  would  have  been  extremely 
difficult  ever  after  to  have  restored  it."  In  view  of  the 
stupendous  issues  at  stake,  the  patience  of  the  men  of  Bos- 
ton was  far  more  remarkable  than  their  boldness.  For  the 
quiet  sublimity  of  reasonable  but  dauntless  moral  purpose, 
the  heroic  annals  of  Greece  and  Rome  can  show  us  no 
greater  scene  than  that  which  the  Old  South  Meeting-House 
witnessed  on  the  day  when  the  tea  was  destroyed. 

When  the  news  of  this  affair  reached  England,  it  was 
quite  naturally  pronounced  by  Lord  North  a  fitting  How  Par- 
culmination  to  years  of  riot  and  lawlessness.  This,  Jeceived 
said  Lord  George  Germain,  is  what  comes  of  the  news 
their  wretched  old  town  meetings.  The  Americans  have 
really  no  government.  These  "are  the  proceedings  of  a 
tumultuous  and  riotous  rabble,  who  ought,  if  they  had  the 
least  prudence,  to  follow  their  mercantile  employments,  and 
not  trouble  themselves  with  politics  and  government,  which 
they  do  not  understand.  Some  gentlemen  say,  '  Oh,  don't 
break  their  charter ;  don't  take  away  rights  granted  them 
by  the  predecessors  of  the  Crown.'  Whoever  wishes  to 
preserve  such  charters,  I  wish  him  no  worse  than  to  govern 
such  subjects."  "These  remarks,"  said  Lord  North,  "are 
worthy  of  a  great  mind."  "If  we  take  a  determined  stand 
now,"  said  Lord  Mansfield,  "Boston  will  submit,  and  all 
will  end  in  victory  without  carnage."  "The  town  of  Bos- 
ton," said  Mr.  Venn,  "  ought  to  be  knocked  about  their  ears 
and  destroyed.     You  will  never  meet  with  proper  obedience 


92  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  ii 

to  the  laws  of  this  country  until  you  have  destroyed  that 
nest  of  locusts."  General  Gage,  who  had  just  come  home  on 
a  visit,  assured  the  king  that  the  other  colonies  might  speak 
fair  words  to  Massachusetts,  but  would  do  nothing  to  help 
her ;  and  he  offered  with  four  regiments  to  make  a  speedy 
end  of  the  whole  matter.  "They  will  be  lions,"  said  Gage, 
"  while  we  are  lambs  ;  but  if  we  take  the  resolute  part,  they 
will  prove  very  meek,  I  promise  you."  It  was  in  this  spirit 
and  under  the  influence  of  these  ideas  that  the  ministry 


took  up  the  business  of  dealing  with  the  refractory  colony 
of  Massachusetts.  Lord  North  proposed  a  series  of  five 
measures,  which  from  the  king's  point  of  view  would  serve, 
not  only  to  heal  the  wounded  pride  of  Great  Britain,  but 
also  to  prevent  any  more  riotous  outbreaks  among  this  law- 
less American  people.  Just  at  this  moment,  the  opposition 
ventured  upon  a  bold  stroke.  Fox  said  truly  that  no  plan 
for  pacifying  the  colonies  would  be  worth  a  rush  unless  the 
unconditional  repeal  of  the  Tea  Act  should  form  part  of  it. 


i774  THE   CRISIS  93 

A  bill  for  the  repealing  of  the  Tea  Act  was  brought  in  by 
Fuller,  and  a  lively  debate  ensued,  in  the  course  of  which 
Edmund  Burke  made  one  of  the  weightiest  speeches  ever 
heard  in  the  House  of  Commons  ;  setting  forth  in  all  the 
wealth  of  his  knowledge  the  extreme  danger  of  the  course 
upon  which  the  ministry  had  entered,  and  showing  how  little 
good  fruit  was  to  be  expected  from  a  coercive  policy,  even 
if  successful.  Burke  was  ably  supported  by  Fox,  Conway, 
Barre,  Savile,  Dowdeswell,  Pownall,  and  Dunning.  But  the 
current  had  set  too  strongly  against  conciliation.  Lord 
North  sounded  the  keynote  of  the  whole  British  policy 
when  he  said,  "  To  repeal  the  tea-duty  would  stamp  us  with 
timidity."  Come  what  might,  it  would  never  do  for  the 
Americans  to  get  it  into  their  heads  that  the  government 
was  not  all-powerful.  They  must  be  humbled  first,  that 
they  might  be  reasoned  with  afterwards.  The  tea-duty, 
accordingly,  was  not  repealed,  but  Lord  North's  five  acts 
for  the  better  regulation  of  American  affairs  were  all  passed 
by  Parliament. 

By  the  first  act,  known  as  the  Boston  Port  Bill,  no  ships 
were  to  be  allowed  to  enter  or  clear  the  port  of 
Boston  until  the  rebellious  town  should  have  indem-   ton  Port 
nified  the  East  India  Company  for  the  loss  of  its 
tea,  and  should  otherwise  have  made  it  appear  to  the  king 
that  it  would  hereafter  show  a  spirit  of  submission.    Marble- 
head  was  made  a  port  of  entry  instead  of  Boston,  and  Salem 
was  made  the  seat  of  government. 

By  the  second  act,  known  as  the  Regulating  Act,  the 
charter  of  Massachusetts  was  annulled  without  TheRegu- 
preliminary  notice,  and  her  free  government  was  latinsAct 
destroyed.  Under  the  charter,  the  members  of  the  council 
for  each  year  were  chosen  in  a  convention  consisting  of  the 
council  of  the  preceding  year  and  the  assembly.  Each 
councillor  held  office  for  a  year,  and  was  paid  out  of  an 
appropriation  made  by  the  assembly.  Now,  hereafter,  the 
members  of  the  council  were  to  be  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernor on  a  royal  writ  of  mandamus,  their  salaries  were  to 


psggs&stc**^ 


1774  THE    CRISIS  95 

be  paid  by  the  Crown,  and  they  could  be  removed  from 
office  at  the  king's  pleasure.  The  governor  was  empowered 
to  appoint  all  judges  and  officers  of  courts,  and  all  such 
officers  were  to  be  paid  by  the  king  and  to  hold  office  during 
his  .pleasure.  The  governor  and  his  dependent  council 
could  appoint  sheriffs  and  remove  them  without  assigning 
any  reason,  and  these  dependent  sheriffs  were  to  have  the 
sole  right  of  returning  juries.  But,  worse  than  all,  the  town- 
meeting  system  of  local  self-government  was  ruthlessly 
swept  away.  Town  meetings  could  indeed  be  held  twice  a 
year  for  the  election  of  town  officers,  but  no  other  business 
could  be  transacted  in  them.  The  effect  of  all  these  changes 
would,  of  course,  be  to  concentrate  all  power  in  the  hands 
of  the  governor,  leaving  no  check  whatever  upon  his  arbi- 
trary will.  It  would,  in  short,  transform  the  commonwealth 
of  Massachusetts  into  an  absolute  despotism,  such  as  no 
Englishman  had  ever  lived  under  in  any  age.  And  this 
tremendous  act  was  to  go  into  operation  on  the  first  day 
of  the  following  June. 

The  king's  friends  were  fond  of  asserting  that  the  Americans  were 
"  virtually  represented  "  in  Parliament,  through  their  British  friends  in 
that  body.  On  the  back  of  the  copy  of  this  broadside,  "  Virtual  Rep- 
resentation," in  the  possession  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society, 
is  the  following  explanation,  in  the  handwriting  of  the  time  :  — 

"  A  full  explanation  of  the  within  print.  —  No.  1  intends  the  K — g 
of  G.  B.,  to  whom  the  House  of  Commons  (4)  gives  the  Americans' 
money  for  the  use  of  that  very  H.  of  C,  and  which  he  is  endeavouring 
to  take  away  with  the  power  of  cannon.  No.  2,  by  a  Frenchman  signi- 
fies the  tyranny  that  is  intended  for  America.  No.  3,  the  figure  of  a 
Roman  Catholic  priest  with  his  crucifix  and  gibbet,  assisting  George 
in  enforcing  his  tyrannical  system  of  civil  and  religious  government. 
Nos.  5  and  6  are  honest  American  yeomen,  who  oppose  an  oaken  staff 

to  G 's  cannon,  and  determine  they  will  not  be  robbed.     No.  7  is 

poor  Britannia  blindfolded,  falling  into  the  bottomless  pit  which  her 
infamous  rulers  have  prepared  for  the  Americans.  Nos.  8,  9  repre- 
sent Boston  in  flames  and  Quebec  triumphant,  to  show  the  probable 
consequence  of  submission  to  the  present  wicked  ministerial  system, 
that  popery  and  tyranny  will  triumph  over  true  religion,  virtue,  and 
liberty." 


96  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  n 

By  the  third  act  —  a  pet  measure  of  George  III.,  to  which 
Lord  North  assented  with  great  reluctance  —  it  was  provided 
that  if  any  magistrate,  soldier,  or  revenue  officer  in  Massa- 
chusetts should  be  indicted  for  murder,  he  should  be  tried, 
not  in  Massachusetts,  but  in  Great  Britain.  This  measure 
—  though  doubtless  unintentionally  —  served  to 
ing  of  encourage  the  soldiery  in  shooting  down  peaceful 

citizens,  and  it  led  by  a  natural  sequence  to  the 
bloodshed  on  Lexington  green.  It  was  defended  on  the 
ground  that  in  case  of  any  chance  affray  between  soldiers 
and  citizens,  it  would  not  be  possible  for  the  soldiers  to 
obtain  a  fair  trial  in  Massachusetts.  Less  than  four  years 
had  elapsed  since  Preston's  men  had  been  so  readily  ac- 
quitted of  murder  after  the  shooting  in  King  Street,  but 
such  facts  were  of  no  avail  now.  The  momentous  bill 
passed  in  the  House  of  Commons  by  a  vote  of  more  than 
four  to  one,  in  spite  of  Colonel  Barre's  ominous  warnings. 

By  the  fourth  act  all  legal  obstacles  to  the  quartering  of 
troops  in  Boston  or  any  other  town  in  Massachusetts  were 
swept  away. 

By  the  fifth  act,  known  as  the  Quebec  Act,  the  free 
The  Que-  exercise  of  the  Catholic  religion  was  sanctioned 
bee  Act  throughout  Canada,  —  a  very  judicious  measure  of 
religious  toleration,  which  concerned  the  other  colonies  but 
little,  however  it  might  in  some  cases  offend  their  prejudices. 
But  this  act  went  on  to  extend  the  boundaries  of  Canada 
southward  to  the  Ohio  river,  in  defiance  of  the  territorial 
claims  of  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New  York,  and  Vir- 
ginia. '  This  extensive  region,  the  part  of  North  America 
which  was  next  to  be  colonized  by  men  of  English  race,  was 
to  be  governed  by  a  viceroy,  with  despotic  powers  ;  and 
such  people  as  should  come  to  live  there  were  to  have  neither 
popular  meetings,  nor  habeas  corpus,  nor  freedom  of  the 
press.  "This,"  said  Lord  Thurlow,  "is  the  only  sort  of 
constitution  fit  for  a  colony," — and  all  the  American  colo- 
nies, he  significantly  added,  had  better  be  reduced  to  this 
condition  as  soon  as  possible. 


1774  THE    CRISIS  97 

When  all  these  acts  had  been  passed,  in  April,  1774,  Gen- 
eral Gage  was  commissioned  to  supersede  Hut  chin-  Gage  sent 
son  temporarily  as  governor  of  Massachusetts,  and  t0  Boston 
was  sent  over  with  as  little  delay  as  possible,  together  with 
the  four  regiments  which  were  to  scare  the  people  into  sub- 
mission. On  the  first  day  of  June,  he  was  to  close  the  port 
of  Boston  and  begin  starving  the  town  into  good  behaviour ; 
he  was  to  arrest  the  leading  patriots  and  send  them  to  Eng- 
land for  trial ;  and  he  was  expressly  authorized  to  use  his 
own  discretion  as  to  allowing  the  soldiers  to  fire  upon  the 
people.  All  these  measures  for  enslaving  peaceful  and  law- 
abiding  Englishmen  the  king  of  England  now  contemplated, 
as  he  himself  declared,  "with  supreme  satisfaction." 

In  recounting  such  measures  as  these,  the  historian  is 
tempted  to  pause  for  a  moment,  and  ask  whether  it  could 
really  have  been  an  English  government  that  planned  and 
decreed  such  things.  From  the  autocratic  mouth  of  an 
Artaxerxes  or  an  Abderrahman  one  would  naturally  expect 
such  edicts  to  issue.  From  the  misguided  cabinets  of  Spain 
and  France,  in  evil  times,  measures  in  spirit  like  these  had 
been  known  to  proceed.  But  our  dear  mother-country  had 
for  ages  stood  before  the  world  as  the  staunch  defender  of 
personal  liberty  and  of  local  self-government ;  and  through 
the  mighty  strength  which  this  spirit  of  freedom,  and  no- 
thing else,  had  given  her,  she  had  won  the  high  privilege 
of  spreading  her  noble  and  beneficent  political  ideas  over 
the  best  part  of  the  habitable  globe.  Yet  in  the  five  acts 
of  this  political  tragedy  of  1774  we  find  England  arrayed  in 
hostility  to  every  principle  of  public  justice  which  English- 
men had  from  time  immemorial  held  sacred.  Upon  the 
great  continent  which  she  had  so  lately  won  from  the  French 
champions  of  despotism,  we  see  her  vainly  seeking  to  estab- 
lish a  tyrannical  regime  no  better  than  that  which  but  yes- 
terday it  had  been  her  glory  to  overthrow.  Such  was  the 
strange,  the  humiliating,  the  self-contradictory  attitude  into 
which  England  had  at  length  been  brought  by  the  selfish 
Tory  policy  of  George  III. ! 


98  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  n 

But  this  policy  was  no  less  futile  than  it  was  unworthy  of 
the  noble,  freedom-loving  English  people.  For  after  that 
fated  ist  of  June,  the  sovereign  authority  of  Great  Britain, 
whether  exerted  through  king  or  through  Parliament,  was 
never  more  to  be  recognized  by  the  men  of  Massachusetts. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE    CONTINENTAL    CONGRESS 


The  unfortunate  meas- 
ures of  April,  1 774,  were  not 
carried  through  Parliament 
without  earnest  opposition. 
Lord  Rockingham  and  his 
friends  entered  a  protest  on 
the  journal  of  the  House  of 
Lords,  on  the  grounds  that 
the  people  of  Massachusetts 
had  not  been  heard  in  their 
own  defence,  and  that  the 
lives  and  liberties  of  the 
citizens  were  put  absolutely 
into  the  hands  of  the  gov- 
ernor and  council,  who  were 
thus  invested  with  greater 
powers  than  it  had  ever 
been  thought  wise  to  entrust  to  the  king  and  his  privy  coun- 
cil in  Great  Britain.  They  concluded,  therefore,  that  the 
acts  were  unconstitutional.  The  Duke  of  Richmond  could 
not  restrain  his  burning  indignation.  "  I  wish,"  said  he  in 
the  House  of  Lords,  —  "I  wish  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart 
that  the  Americans  may  resist,  and  get  the  better  of  the 
forces  sent  against  them."  But  that  the  Americans  really 
would  resist,  very  few  people  in  England  believed.  The  con- 
duct of  the  ministry  was  based  throughout  upon  the  absurd 
idea  that  the  Americans  could  be  frightened  into  submission. 
General  Gage,  as  we  have  seen,  thought  that  four  regiments 
would  be  enough  to  settle  the  whole  business.     Lord  Sand- 


9^'tf 


IOO 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  Ill 


wich  said  that  the  Americans  were  a  set  of  undisciplined 
cowards,  who  would  take  to  their  heels  at.  the  first  sound  of 
Belief  that  a  cannon.  Even  Hutchinson,  who  went  over  to 
SnswSd  England  about  this  time,  and  who  ought  to  have 
not  fight  known  of  what  stuff  the  men  of  Massachusetts  were 
made,  assured  the  king  that  they  could  hardly  be  expected 
to  resist  a  regular  army.  Such  blunders,  however,  need  not 
surprise  us  when  we  recollect  how,  just  before  the  war  of 
secession,  the  people  of  the  southern  and  of  the  northern 


FOX   AND    BURKE    DENOUNCING    LORD    NORTH 
(A  contemporary  caricature) 


states  made  similar  mistakes  with  regard  to  each  other.  In 
i860,  it  was  commonly  said  by  Southern  people  that  North- 
ern people  would  submit  to  anything  rather  than  fight ;  and 
in  support  of  this  opinion,  it  was  sometimes  asked,  "If  the 
Northern  people  are  not  arrant  cowards,  why  do  they  never 
have  duels  ?  "  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  commonly  said  at 
the  North  that  the  Southern  people,  however  bravely  they 
might  bluster,  would  never  enter  upon  a  war  of  secession, 
because  it  was  really  much  more  for  their  interest  to  remain 
in  the  Federal  Union  than  to  secede  from  it,  —  an  argument 
which  lost  sight  of  one  of  the  commonest  facts  in  human 


1774  THE   CONTINENTAL   CONCRESS"      \  \ \\ ' :  ic»v 

life,  that  under  the  influence  of  strong  passion  men  are  un- 
able to  take  just  views  of  what  concerns  their  own  interests. 
Such  examples  show  how  hard  it  often  is  for  one  group  of 
men  to  understand  another  group,  even  when  they  are  all 
of  the  same  blood  and  speech,  and  think  alike  about  most 
matters  that  do  not  touch  the  particular  subject  in  dispute. 
Nothing  could  have  been  surer,  either  in  1 860,  or  in  1 774, 
than  that  the  one  party  to  the  quarrel  was  as  bold  and  brave 
as  the  other. 

Another  fatal  error  under  which  the  ministry  laboured 
was  the  belief  that  Massachusetts  would  not  be  Beliefthat 
supported  by  the  other  colonies.     Their  mistake   Massachu- 

rL  J  setts  would 

was  not  unlike  that  which  ruined  the  plans  of  Na-  not  be  sup- 
poleon  III.,  when  he  declared  war  upon  Prussia  in  the  other 
1870.  There  was  no  denying  the  fact  of  strong  colomes 
jealousies  among  the  American  colonies  in  1774,  as  there 
was  no  denying  the  fact  of  strong  jealousies  between  the 
northern  and  southern  German  states  in  1870.  But  the 
circumstances  under  which  Napoleon  III.  made  war  on 
Prussia  happened  to  be  such  as  to  enlist  all  the  German 
states  in  the  common  cause  with  her.  And  so  it  was  with 
the  war  of  George  III.  against  Massachusetts.  As  soon  as 
the  charter  of  that  colony  was  annulled,  all  the  other  colo- 
nies felt  that  their  liberties  were  in  jeopardy;  and  thence, 
as  Fox  truly  said,  "  all  were  taught  to  consider  the  town  of 
Boston  as  suffering  in  the  common  cause." 

News  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill  was  received  in  America  on 
the  10th  of  May.  On  the  12th  the  committees  of  several 
Massachusetts  towns  held  a  convention  at  Faneuil  Hall,  and 
adopted  a  circular  letter,  prepared  by  Samuel  Adams,  to  be 
sent  to  all  the  other  colonies,  asking  for  their  sympathy  and 
cooperation.  The  response  was  prompt  and  emphatic.  In 
the  course  of  the  summer,  conventions  were  held  in  nearly 
all  the  colonies,  declaring  that  Boston  should  be   „ 

,       ,  rr       .  .  ,,       NeWS  Of 

regarded   as   "suffering   in   the   common   cause.      thePort 

The  obnoxious  acts  of  Parliament  were  printed  on 

paper  with  deep  black  borders,  and  in  some  towns  were  pub- 


l-{  $qcVcJ  THE. AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  hi 

licly  burned  by  the  common  hangman.  Droves  of  cattle 
and  flocks  of  sheep,  cartloads  of  wheat  and  maize,  kitchen 
vegetables  and  fruit,  barrels  of  sugar,  quintals  of  dried  fish, 
provisions  of  every  sort,  were  sent  overland  as  free  gifts  to 
the  people  of  the  devoted  city,  even  the  distant  rice-swamps 
of  South  Carolina  contributing  their  share.  The  over-cau- 
tious Franklin  had  written  from  London,  suggesting  that 
perhaps  it  might  be  best,  after  all,  for  Massachusetts  to  in- 
demnify the  East  India  Company ;  but  Gadsden,  with  a 
sounder  sense  of  the  political  position,  sent  word,  "Don't 
pay  for  an  ounce  of  the  damned  tea."  Throughout  the 
greater  part  of  the  country  the  ist  of  June  was  kept  as  a 
day  of  fasting  and  prayer ;  bells  were  muffled  and  tolled  in 
the  principal  churches  ;  ships  in  the  harbours  put  their  flags 
at  half-mast.  Marblehead,  which  was  appointed  to  super- 
sede Boston  as  port  of  entry,  immediately  invited  the  mer- 
chants of  Boston  to  use  its  wharfs  and  warehouses  free  of 
charge  in  shipping  and  unshipping  their  goods.  A  policy  of 
absolute  non-importation  was  advocated  by  many  of  the  colo- 
nies, though  Pennsylvania,  under  the  influence  of  Dickinson, 
still  vainly  cherishing  hopes  of  reconciliation,  hung  back, 
and  advised  that  the  tea  should  be  paid  for.  As  usual,  the 
warmest  sympathy  with  New  England  came  from  Virginia. 
"If  need  be,"  said  Washington,  "  I  will  raise  one  thousand 
men,  subsist  them  at  my  own  expense,  and  march  myself  at 
their  head  for  the  relief  of  Boston." 

To  insure  concerted  action  on  the  part  of  the  whole 
country,  something  more  was  required  than  these  general 
expressions  and  acts  of  sympathy.  The  proposal  for  a  Con- 
tinental Congress  came  first  from  the  Sons  of  Liberty  in 
New  York  ;  it  was  immediately  taken  up  by  the  members 
of  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses,  sitting  in  convention  at 
the  Raleigh  tavern,  after  the  governor  had  dissolved  them 
as  a  legislature ;  and  Massachusetts  was  invited  to  appoint 
the  time  and  place  for  the  meeting  of  the  Congress.  On 
the  7th  of  June  the  Massachusetts  assembly  was  convened 
at  Salem  by  General   Gage,  in  conformity  with  the  provi- 


1774  THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS         .  103 

sions  of  the  Port  Bill.  Samuel  Adams  always  preferred  to 
use  the  ordinary  means  of  transacting  public  busi- 
ness so  long  as  they  were  of  avail,  and  he  naturally  Adams  at 
wished  to  have  the  act  appointing  a  Continental 
Congress  passed  by  the  assembly.  But  this  was  not  easy 
to  bring  about,  for  upon  the  first  hint  that  any  such  busi- 
ness was  to  come  up  the  governor  would  be  sure  to  dissolve 
the  assembly,  y  In  such  case  it  would  be  necessary  for  the 
committees  of  correspondence  throughout  Massachusetts  to 
hold  a  convention  for  the  purpose  of  appointing  the  time 
and  place  for  the  Congress  and  of  electing  delegates  to  at- 
tend it.  But  Adams  preferred  to  have  these  matters  de- 
cided in  regular  legislative  session,  and  he  carried  his  point. 
Having  talked  privately  with  several  of  the  members,  at  last 
on  the  17th  of  June  —  a  day  which  a  twelvemonth  hence 
was  to  become  so  famous  —  the  favourable  moment  came. 
Having  had  the  door  locked,  he  introduced  his  resolves, 
appointing  five  delegates  to  confer  with  duly  appointed  dele- 
gates from  the  other  colonies,  in  a  Continental  Congress  at 
Philadelphia  on  the  1st  of  September  next.  Some  of  the 
members,  astonished  and  frightened,  sought  to  pass  out ; 
and  as  the  doorkeeper  seemed  uneasy  at  assuming  so  much 
responsibility,  Samuel  Adams  relieved  him  of  it  by  taking 
the  key  from  the  door  and  putting  it  into  his  own  pocket, 
whereupon  the  business  of  the  assembly  went  on.  Soon 
one  of  the  Tory  members  pretended  to  be  very  sick,  and 
being  allowed  to  go  out,  made  all  haste  to  Governor  Gage, 
who  instantly  drew  up  his  writ  dissolving  the  assembly,  and 
sent  his  secretary  with  it.  When  the  secretary  got  there, 
he  found  the  door  locked,  and  as  nobody  would  let  him  in 
or  pay  any  attention  to  him,  he  was  obliged  to  content  him- 
self with  reading  the  writ,  in  a  loud  voice,  to  the  crowd 
which  had  assembled  on  the  stairs.  The  assembly  mean- 
while passed  the  resolves  by  117  to  12,  elected  Samuel  and 
John  Adams,  Thomas  Cushing,  and  Robert  Treat  Paine  as 
delegates,  assessed  the  towns  in  the  commonwealth  for  the 
necessary  expenses,  passed  measures  for  the  relief  of  Boston, 


104 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  Ill 


and  adjourned  sine  die.  All  the  other  colonies  except 
Georgia,  in  the  course  of  the  summer,  accepted  the  invita- 
tion, and  chose  delegates,  either  through  their  assemblies  or 
through  special  conventions.  Georgia  sent  no  delegates, 
but  promised  to  adopt  any  course  of  action  that  should  be 
determined  upon. 


1774  THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS  105 

Before  the  time  appointed  for  the  Congress,  Massachu- 
setts had  set  the  Regulating  Act  at  defiance.  On  the  16th 
of  August,  when  the  court  assembled  at  Great  Barrington, 
a  vast  multitude  of  farmers  surrounded  the  court  house  and 
forbade  the  judges  to  transact  any  business.  Two  or  three 
of  the  councillors  newly  appointed  on  the  king's 
writ  of  mandamus  yielded  in  advance  to  public  setts  nuin- 
opinion,  and  refused  to  take  their  places.  Those  Regulating 
who  accepted  were  forced  to  resign.  At  Worces-  Act 
ter  2,000  men  assembled  on  the  common,  and  compelled 
Timothy  Paine  to  make  his  resignation  in  writing.  The 
councillor  appointed  from  Bridgewater  was  a  deacon  ;  when 
he  read  the  psalm  the  congregation  refused  to  sing.  In 
Plymouth  one  of  the  most  honoured  citizens,  George  Wat- 
son, accepted  a  place  on  the  council ;  as  he  took  his  seat  in 
church  on  the  following  Sunday,  the  people  got  up  and 
began  to  walk  out  of  the  house.  Overcome  with  shame,  for 
a  moment  his  venerable  gray  head  sank  upon  the  pew  before 
him  ;  then  he  rose  up  and  vowed  that  he  would  resign.  In 
Boston  the  justices  and  barristers  took  their  accustomed 
places  in  the  court  house,  but  no  one  could  be  found  to  serve 
as  juror  in  a  court  that  was  illegally  constituted.  Gage 
issued  a  proclamation  warning  all  persons  against  attending 
town  meeting,  but  no  one  heeded  him,  and  town  meetings 
were  more  fully  attended  than  ever.  He  threatened  to 
send  an  armed  force  against  Worcester,  but  the  people  there 
replied  that  he  would  do  so  at  his  peril,  and  forthwith  began 
to  collect  powder  and  ball.  At  Salem  the  people  walked  to 
the  town  house  under  the  governor's  nose  and  in  the  very 
presence  of  a  line  of  soldiers.  On  the  1st  of  September 
a  party  of  soldiers  seized  two  hundred  kegs  of  powder  at 
Charlestown  and  two  field-pieces  at  Cambridge,  and  carried 
them  to  Castle  William.  As  the  news  spread  about  the 
country,  rumour  added  that  the  troops  had  fired  upon  the 
people,  and  within  forty-eight  hours  at  least  20,000  men  were 
marching  on  Boston ;  but  they  turned  back  to  their  homes 
on  receiving  word  from  the  Boston  committee  that  their  aid 
was  not  yet  needed. 


io6  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  hi 


During  these  stirring  events,  in  the  absence  of  Samuel 
Adams,  who  had  gone  to  attend  the  Congress  at  Phila- 
delphia, the  most  active  part  in  the  direction  of  affairs  at 
John  Han-  Boston  was  taken  by  Dr.  Joseph  Warren.  This 
Joseph"1  gentleman  —  one  of  a  family  which  has  produced 
Warren  three  very  eminent  physicians  —  was  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1759.  He  had  early  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  Samuel  Adams,  had  come  to  be  one  of  his  dearest 
friends,  and  had  been  concerned  with  him  in  nearly  all  of 
his  public  acts  of  the  past  seven  years.     He  was  a  man  of 


1774 


THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS 


107 


knightly  bravery  and  courtesy,  and  his  energy  and  fertility 
of  mind  were  equalled  only  by  his  rare  sweetness  and  mod- 
esty. With  Adams  and  Hancock,  he  made  up  the  great 
Massachusetts  triumvirate  of  Revolutionary  leaders.  The 
accession  of  Hancock  to  the  Revolutionary  cause  at  an 
early  period  had  been  of  great  help,  by  reason  of  his  wealth 
and  social  influence.  Hancock  was  graduated  at  Harvard 
College  in  1754.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  refinement  and 
grace,  but  neither  for  grasp  of  intelligence  nor  for  strength 
of  character  can  he  be  compared  with  Adams  or  with  War- 
ren. His  chief  weakness  was  personal  vanity,  but  he  was 
generous  and  loyal,  and  under  the  influence  of  the  iron-willed 
Adams  was  capable  of  good  things.     Upon  Warren,  more 


SUFFOLK   RESOLVES   HOUSE   AT   MILTON 


than  any  one  else,  however,  Adams  relied  as  a  lieutenant, 
who,  under  any  circumstances  whatever,  would  be  Sure  to 
prove  equal  to  the  occasion. 

On  the  5th  of  September  Gage  began  fortifying  Boston 
Neck,  so  as  to  close  the  only  approach  to  the  city  by  land. 
Next  day  the  county  assize  was  to  be  held  at  Worcester ; 
but  5,000  armed  men,  drawn  up  in  regular  military  array, 


108  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  hi 

lined  each  side  of  the  main  street,  and  the  unconstitutionally- 
appointed  judges  were  forbidden  to  take,  their  seats.  On 
the  same  day  a  convention  of  the  towns  of  Suffolk  county 
The  was  held  at  Milton,  and  a  series   of   resolutions, 

County  drawn  up  by  Dr.  Warren,  were  adopted  unani- 
Sept0l6eS'  mously.  The  resolutions  declared  that  a  king  who 
1774  violates  the  chartered  rights  of  his  people  forfeits 

their  allegiance ;  they  declared  the  Regulating  Act  null  and  j 
void  and  ordered  all  the  officers  appointed  under  it  to  resign 
their  offices  at  once ;  they  directed  the  collectors  of  taxes  to 
refuse  to  pay  over  money  to  Gage's  treasurer ;  they  advised 
the  towns  to   choose  their  own  militia  officers ;  and  they 

BOSTON,  September,  27,  1774. 
GENTLEMEN, 

THE  committees  of  correfpondence  of  this  and  feveral  of  the 
neighbouring  towns,  having  taken  into  conficieradon  the 
vafl  importance  of  withholding  from  the  troops  now  here, 
labour,  flraw,  timber,  flit  work,  boards,  and  in  fliort  every 
article  excepting  provifions  neceflary  for  their  fubfiftance; 
and  being  under  a  necefiity  from  their  conduct  of  confidering 
them  as  real  enemies,  we  are  fully  fatisfied  that  it  is  our  bounded 
doty  to  withhold  from  them  every  thing  but  what  nicer  humani- 
ty requires  ;  and  therefore  we  mufl  beg  your  clofe  and  iertous  at* 
tention  to  the  incloied  refolves  which  were  pafTed  unanlmoufly  ; 
and  as  unanimity  in  all  our.  mealures  in  this  day  of  fevere  trial, 
is  of  the  utmofl:  confequence,  wc  do  earnellly  recommend  your 
co-operation  in  this  meaiure,  as  conducive  to  the  good  oi*  the 
whole. 

We  are, 

Your  Friends  and  Fellow  Countrymen, 

Signed  by  Order  of  the  joint  Committee* 

Clerk. 


3y  Urdei 


NOTICE   OF   THE   COMMITTEE   OF   CORRESPONDENCE 


1774  THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS  109 

threatened  the  governor  that,  should  he  venture  to  arrest 
any  one  for  political  reasons,  they  would  retaliate  by  seizing 
upon  the  Crown  officers  as  hostages.  A  copy  of  these 
resolutions,  which  virtually  placed  Massachusetts  in  an  at- 
titude of  rebellion,  was  forwarded  to  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, which  enthusiastically  indorsed  them,  and  pledged 
the  faith  of  all  the  other  colonies  that  they  would  aid  Mas- 
sachusetts in  case  armed  resistance  should  become  inevitable, 
while  at  the  same  time  they  urged  that  a  policy  of  modera- 
tion should  be  preserved,  and  that  Great  Britain  should  be 
left  to  fire  the  first  shot. 

On  receiving  these  instructions  from  the  Congress,  the 
people  of  Massachusetts  at  once  proceeded  to  organize  a 
provisional  government  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the 
Suffolk  resolves.  Gage  had  issued  a  writ  convening  the  as- 
sembly at  Salem  for  the  1st  of  October,  but  before  the  day 
arrived  he  changed  his  mind,  and  prorogued  it.  In  dis- 
regard of  this  order,  however,  the  representatives  met  at 
Salem  a  week  later,  organized  themselves  into  a  provincial 
congress,  with  John  Hancock  for  president,  and  provincial 
adjourned  to  Concord.  On  the  27th  they  chose  £°Massa- 
a  committee  of  safety,  with  Warren  for  chairman,  chusetts 
and  charged  it  with  the  duty  of  collecting  military  stores. 
In  December  this  Congress  dissolved  itself,  but  a  new  one 
assembled  at  Cambridge  on  the  1st  of  February,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  organize  the  militia  and  appoint  general  officers. 
A  special  portion  of  the  militia,  known  as  "minute-men," 
were  set  apart,  under  orders  to  be  ready  to  assemble  at 
a  moment's  warning  ;  and  the  committee  of  safety  were 
directed  to  call  out  this  guard  as  soon  as  Gage  should 
venture  to  enforce  the  Regulating  Act.  Under  these  in- 
structions every  village  green  in  Massachusetts  at  once 
became  the  scene  of  active  drill.  Nor  was  it  a  population 
unused  to  arms  that  thus  began  to  marshal  itself  into  com- 
panies and  regiments.  During  the  French  war  one  fifth  of 
all  the  able-bodied  men  of  Massachusetts  had  been  in  the 
field,  and  in   1757  the  proportion  had  risen  to  one  third. 


no  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  m 

There  were  plenty  of  men  who  had  learned  how  to  stand 
under  fire,  and  officers  who  had  held  command  on  hard- 
fought  fields  ;  and  all  were  practised  marksmen.  It  is  quite 
incorrect  to  suppose  that  the  men  who  first  repulsed  the 
British  regulars  in   1775  were  a  band  of  farmers,  utterly 


Ky-esLf/trru  Ji.  asvr,U<rfy>'C 


unused  to  fighting.     Their  little  army  was  indeed  a  militia, 
but  it  was  made  up  of  warlike  material. 

While  these  preparations  were  going  on  in  Massachusetts, 
Meeting  of  the  Continental  Congress  had  assembled  at  the 
nentaf11  *  Hall  of  the  Company  of  Carpenters,  in  Philadel- 
Congress,  pj^  on  ^  ^  0f  September.  Peyton  Randolph, 
1774  of  Virginia,  was  chosen  president ;   and  the  Ad- 

amses, the  Livingstons,  the  Rutledges,  Dickinson,  Chase, 
Pendleton,  Lee,  Henry,  and  Washington  took  part  in  the  de- 


1774 


THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS 


in 


CARPENTERS'   HALL,   PHILADELPHIA 


bates.  One  of  their  first  acts  was  to  dispatch  Paul  Revere 
to  Boston  with  their  formal  approval  of  the  action  of  the 
Suffolk  Convention.  After  four  weeks  of  deliberation  they 
agreed  upon  a  declaration  of  rights,  claiming  for  the  Ameri- 
can people  "a  free  and  exclusive  power  of  legislation  in  their 
provincial  legislatures,  where  their  rights  of  legislation  could 


ii2  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  hi 

alone  be  preserved  in  all  cases  of  taxation  and  internal 
polity."  This  paper  also  specified  the  rights  of  which  they 
would  not  suffer  themselves  to  be  deprived,  and  called  for 
the  repeal  of  eleven  acts  of  Parliament  by  which  these  rights 
had  been  infringed.  Besides  this,  they  formed  an  associa- 
tion for  insuring  commercial  non-intercourse  with  Great 
Britain,  and  charged  the  committees  of  correspondence  with 
the  duty  of  inspecting  the  entries  at  all  custom  houses. 
Addresses  were  also  prepared,  to  be  sent  to  the  king,  to  the 
people  of  Great  Britain,  and  to  the  inhabitants  of  British 
America.  The  ioth  of  May  was  appointed  for  a  second 
Congress,  in  which  the  Canadian  colonies  and  the  Floridas 
were  invited  to  join ;  and  on  the  26th  of  October  the  Con- 
gress dissolved  itself. 

The  ability  of  the  papers  prepared  by  the  first  Conti- 
nental Congress  has  long  been  fully  admitted  in  England 
as  well  as  in  America.  Chatham  declared  them  unsur- 
passed by  any  state  papers  ever  composed  in  any  age  or 
country.  But  the  king's  manipulation  of  rotten  boroughs 
in  the  election  of  November,  1774,  was  only  too  successful, 
and  the  new  Parliament  was  not  in  the  mood  for  listen- 
ing to  reason.  Chatham,  Shelburne,  and  Camden  urged  in 
vain  that  the  vindictive  measures  of  the  last  April  should 
be  repealed  and  the  troops  withdrawn  from  Boston.  On 
the  1st  of  February,  Chatham  introduced  a  bill  which,  could 
it  have  passed,  would  no  doubt  have  averted  war,  even  at 
the  eleventh  hour.  Besides  repealing  its  vindictive  meas- 
Debates  in  ures,  Parliament  was  to  renounce  forever  the  right 
Parliament  Q£  taxmg  t^e  colonies,  while  retaining  the  right  of 
regulating  the  commerce  of  the  whole  empire ;  and  the 
Americans  were  to  defray  the  expenses  of  their  own  gov- 
ernments by  taxes  voted  in  their  colonial  assemblies.  A 
few  weeks  later,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  Burke  argued 
that  the  abstract  right  of  Parliament  to  tax  the  colonies 
was  not  worth  contending  for,  and  he  urged  that  on  large 
grounds  of  expediency  it  should  be  abandoned,  and  that  the 
vindictive  acts  should  be  repealed.     But  both  Houses,  by 


1775  THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS  113 

large  majorities,  refused  to  adopt  any  measures  of  concilia- 
tion, and  in  a  solemn  joint  address  to  the  king  declared 
themselves  ready  to  support  him  to  the  end  in  the  policy 
upon  which  he  had  entered.  Massachusetts  was  declared 
to  be  in  a  state  of  rebellion,  and  acts  were  passed  closing  all 
the  ports  of  New  England,  and  prohibiting  its  fishermen 


from  access  to  the  Newfoundland  fisheries.  At  the  same 
time  it  was  voted  to  increase  the  army  at  Boston  to  10,000 
men,  and  to  supersede  Gage,  who  had  in  all  these  months 
accomplished  so  little  with  his  four  regiments.  As  people 
in  England  had  utterly  failed  to  comprehend  the  magnitude 
of  the  task  assigned  to  Gage,  it  was  not  strange  that  they 
should  seek  to  account  for  his  inaction  by  doubting  his  zeal 
and  ability.  No  less  a  person  than  David  Hume  saw  fit  to 
speak  of  him  as  a  "lukewarm  coward."  William  Howe, 
member  of  Parliament  for  the  liberal  constituency  of  Not- 
tingham, was  chosen  to  supersede  him.     In  his  speeches  as 


H4  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  in 

candidate  for  election  only  four  months  ago,  Howe  had 
William  declared  himself  opposed  to  the.  king's  policy,  had 
asserted  that  no  army  that  England  could  raise 
would  be  able  to  subdue  the  Americans,  and,  in  reply  to  a 
question,  had  promised  that  if  offered  a  command  in  America 
he  would  refuse  it.  When  he  now  consented  to  take  Gage's 
place  as  commander-in-chief,  the  people  of  Nottingham 
scolded  him  roundly  for  breaking  his  word. 

It  would  be  unfair,  however,  to  charge  Howe  with  con- 
scious breach  of  faith  in  this  matter.  His  appointment  was 
itself  a  curious  symptom  of  the  element  of  vacillation  that 
was  apparent  in  the  whole  conduct  of  the  ministry,  even 
when  its  attitude  professed  to  be  most  obstinate  and  deter- 
mined. With  all  his  obstinacy  the  king  did  not  really  wish 
for  war,  —  much  less  did  Lord  North  ;  and  the  reason  for 
Howe's  appointinent  was  simply  that  he  was  a  brother  to 
the  Lord  Howe  who  had  fallen  at  Ticonderoga,  and  whose 
memory  was  idolized  by  the  men  of  New  England.  Lord 
North  announced  that,  in  dealing  with  his  misguided  Ameri- 
can brethren,  his  policy  would  be  always  to  send  the  olive 
branch  in  company  with  the  sword  ;  and  no  doubt  Howe 
really  felt  that,  by  accepting  a  command  offered  in  such  a 
spirit,  he  might  more  efficiently  serve  the  interests  of 
humanity  and  justice  than  by  leaving  it  open  for  some  one 
of  cruel  and  despotic  temper,  whose  zeal  might  outrun  even 
the  wishes  of  the  obdurate  king.  At  the  same  time,  his 
Richard,  brother  Richard,  Lord  Howe,  a  seaman  of  great 
Lord  Howe  jkMty,  was  appointed  admiral  of  the  fleet  for 
America,  and  was  expressly  entrusted  with  the  power  of 
offering  terms  to  the  colonies.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  and 
John  Burgoyne,  both  of  them  in  sympathy  with  the  king's 
policy,  were  appointed  to  accompany  Howe  as  lieutenant- 
generals. 

The  conduct  of  the  ministry,  during  this  most  critical  and 
trying  time,  showed  great  uneasiness.  When  leave  was 
asked  for  Franklin  to  present  the  case  for  the  Continental 
Congress,  and  to  defend  it  before  the  House  of  Commons, 


1775 


THE   CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS 


llS 


it  was  refused.  Yet  all  through  the  winter  the  ministry 
were  continually  appealing  to  Franklin,  unofficially  and  in 
private,  in  order  to  find  out  how  the  Americans  might  be 
appeased  without  making  any  such  concessions  as  would 
hurt  the  pride  of  that  Tory  party  which  was  now  misgov- 
erning England.  Lord  Howe  was  the  most  conspicuous 
agent  in  these  fruitless  negotiations.     How  to  conciliate  the 


Afrm 


Americans  without  giving  up  a  single  one  of  the  false  posi- 
tions which  the  king  had  taken  was  the  problem,  and  no 
wonder  that  Franklin  soon  perceived  it  to  be  insolvable,  and 
made  up   his  mind  to   go  home.     He  had  now  stayed  in 
England  for  several  years,  as  agent  for  Pennsyl- 
vania  and  for  Massachusetts.     He  had  shown  him-   returns  to 
self  a  consummate  diplomatist,  of  that  rare  school 
which  deceives  by  telling  unwelcome  truths,  and  he  had 
some  unpleasant  encounters  with  the  king  and  the  king's 
friends.     Now  in  March,  1775,  seeing  clearly  that  he  could 
be  of  no  further  use  in  averting  an  armed   struggle,  he 


n6  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  hi 

returned  to  America.  Franklin's  return  was  not,  in  form, 
like  that  customary  withdrawal  of  an  ambassador  which  her- 
alds and  proclaims  a  state  of  war.  But  practically  it  was 
the  snapping  of  the  last  diplomatic  link  between  the  colonies 
and  the  mother-country. 

Still  the  ministry,  with  all  its  uneasiness,  did  not  believe 
that  war  was  close  at  hand.  It  was  thought  that  the  middle 
colonies,  and  especially  New  York,  might  be  persuaded  to 
support  the  government,  and  that  New  England,  thus  iso- 
lated, would  not  venture  upon  armed  resistance  to  the  over- 
whelming power  of  Great  Britain.  The  hope  was  not  wholly 
unreasonable ;  for  the  great  middle  colonies,  though  con- 
spicuous for  material  prosperity,  were  somewhat  lacking  in 
force  of  political  ideas.  In  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  the 
non-English  population  was  relatively  far  more  considerable 
The  middle  tnan  *n  Virginia  or  the  New  England  colonies, 
colonies  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  population  had 
come  from  the  continent  of  Europe,  and  the  principles  of 
constitutional  government  were  not  so  thoroughly  inwrought 
into  the  innermost  minds  and  hearts  of  the  people,  the  pulse 
of  liberty  did  not  beat  so  quickly  here,  as  in  the  purely  Eng- 
lish commonwealths  of  Virginia  and  Massachusetts.  In 
Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  the  Quakers  were  naturally 
opposed  to  a  course  of  action  that  must  end  in  war ;  and 
such  very  honourable  motives  certainly  contributed  to 
weaken  the  resistance  of  these  colonies  to  the  measures  of 
the  government.  In  New  York  there  were  further  special 
reasons  for  the  existence  of  a  strong  loyalist  feeling.  The 
city  of  New  York  had  for  many  years  been  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  army  and  the  seat  of  the  principal  royal  govern- 
ment in  America.  It  was  not  a  town,  like  Boston,  governing 
itself  in  town  meeting,  but  its  municipal  affairs  were  ad- 
ministered by  a  mayor,  appointed  by  the  king.  Unlike 
Boston  and  Philadelphia,  the  interests  of  the  city  of  New 
York  were  almost  purely  commercial,  and  there  was  nothing 
to  prevent  the  little  court  circle  there  from  giving  the  tone 
to  public  opinion.     The  Episcopal  Church,  too,  was  in  the 


1775  THE    CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS  117 

ascendant,  and  there  was  a  not  unreasonable  prejudice  against 
the  Puritans  of  New  England  for  their  grim  intolerance  of 
Episcopalians  and  their  alleged  antipathy  to  Dutchmen. 
The  province  of  New  York,  moreover,  had  a  standing  dis- 
pute with  its  eastern  neighbours  over  the  ownership  of  the 
Green  Mountain  region.  This  beautiful  country  had  been 
settled  by  New  England  men,  under  grants  from  the  royal 
governors  of  New  Hampshire ;  but  it  was  claimed  by  the 
people  of  New  York,  and  the  controversy  sometimes  waxed 
hot  and  gave  rise  to  very  hard  feelings.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, the  labours  of  the  ministry  to  secure  Lord 
this  central  colony  seemed  at  times  likely  to  be  mistaken 
crowned   with   success.      The   assembly   of   New   hope?of 

J  securing 

York  refused  to  adopt  the  non-importation  policy  New  York 
enjoined  by  the  Continental  Congress,  and  it  refused  to 
choose  delegates  to  the  second  Congress  which  was  to  be 
held  in  May.  The  ministry,  in  return,  sought  to  corrupt 
New  York  by  exempting  it  from  the  commercial  restrictions 
placed  upon  the  neighbouring  colonies,  and  by  promising  to 
confirm  its  alleged  title  to  the  territory  of  Vermont.  All 
these  hopes  proved  fallacious,  however.  In  spite  of  appear- 
ances, the  majority  of  the  people  of  New  York  were  opposed 
to  the  king's  measures,  and  needed  only  an  opportunity  for 
organization.  In  April,  under  the  powerful  leadership  of 
Philip  Schuyler  and  the  Livingstons,  a  convention  was  held, 
delegates  were  chosen  to  attend  the  Congress,  and  New 
York  fell  into  line  with  the  other  colonies.  As  for  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  spite  of  its  peaceful  and  moderate  temper,  it  had 
never  shown  any  signs  of  willingness  to  detach  itself  from 
the  nascent  union. 

News  travelled  with  slow  pace  in  those  days,  and  as  late 
as  the  middle  of  May,  Lord  North,  confident  of  the  success 
of  his  schemes  in  New  York,  and  unable  to  believe  that  the 
yeomanry  of  Massachusetts  would  fight  against  regular 
troops,  declared  cheerfully  that  this  American  business  was 
not  so  alarming  as  it  seemed,  and  everything  would  no  doubt 
be  speedily  settled  without  bloodshed  ! 


n8 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  Ill 


Great  events  had  meanwhile  happened  in  Massachusetts. 

All  through  the  winter  the  resistance  to  General  Gage  had 

.    .       been  passive,  for  the  lesson  had  been  thoroughly 

Massachu-    impressed  upon  the  mind  of  every  man,  woman, 

and  child  in  the  province  that,  in  order  to  make  sure 

of  the  entire  sympathy  of  the  other  colonies,  Great  Britain 


INTERIOR   OF   OLD    SOUTH    MEETING-HOUSE 


must  be  allowed  to  fire  the  first  shot.  The  Regulating  Act 
had  none  the  less  been  silently  defied,  and  neither  coun- 
cillors nor  judges,  neither  sheriffs  nor  jurymen,  could  be 
found  to  serve  under  the  royal  commission.  It  is  striking 
proof  of  the  high  state  of  civilization  attained  by  this  com- 
monwealth, that  although  for  nine  months  the  ordinary  func- 
tions of  government  had  been  suspended,  yet  the  affairs  of 
every-day  life  had  gone  on  without  friction  or  disturbance. 


1775  THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS  119 

Not  a  drop  of  blood  had  been  shed,  nor  had  any  one's  prop- 
erty been  injured.  The  companies  of  yeomen  meeting  at 
eventide  to  drill  on  the  village  green,  and  now  and  then  the 
cart  laden  with  powder  and  ball  that  dragged  slowly  over 
the  steep  roads  on  its  way  to  Concord,  were  the  only  out- 
ward signs  of  an  unwonted  state  of  things.  Not  so,  how- 
ever, in  Boston.  There  the  blockade  of  the  harbour  had 
wrought  great  hardship  for  the  poorer  people.  Business  was 
seriously  interfered  with,  many  persons  were  thrown  out  of 
employment,  and  in  spite  of  the  generous  promptness  with 
which  provisions  had  been  poured  in  from  all  parts  of  the 
country,  there  was  great  suffering  through  scarcity  of  fuel 
and  food.  Still  there  was  but  little  complaint  and  no  dis- 
order. The  leaders  were  as  resolute  as  ever,  and  the  people 
were  as  resolute  as  their  leaders.  As  the  5th  of  March  drew 
near,  several  British  officers  were  heard  to  declare  that  any 
one  who  should  dare  to  address  the  people  in  the  Old  South 
Church  on  this  occasion  would  surely  lose  his  life.  As  soon 
as  he  heard  of  these  threats,  Joseph  Warren  solicited  for 
himself  the  dangerous  honour,  and  at  the  usual  warren's 
hour  delivered  a  stirring  oration  upon  "  the  baleful  ^foid^ 
influence  of  standing  armies  in  time  of  peace."  South 
The  concourse  in  the  church  was  so  great  that  when  the 
orator  arrived  every  approach  to  the  pulpit  was  blocked  up ; 
and  rather  than  elbow  his  way  through  the  crowd,  which 
might  lead  to  some  disturbance,  he  procured  a  ladder,  and 
climbed  in  through  a  large  window  at  the  back  of  the  pulpit. 
About  forty  British  officers  were  present,  some  of  whom  sat 
on  the  pulpit  steps,  and  sought  to  annoy  the  speaker  with 
groans  and  hisses,  but  everything  passed  off  quietly. 

The  boldness  of  Adams  and  Hancock  in  attending  this 
meeting  was  hardly  less  admirable  than  that  of  Warren  in 
delivering  the  address.  It  was  no  secret  that  Gage  had  been 
instructed  to  watch  his  opportunity  to  arrest  Samuel  Adams 
and  "his  willing  and  ready  tool,"  that  "terrible  desperado," 
John  Hancock,  and  send  them  over  to  England  to  be  tried 
for  treason.     Here  was  an  excellent  opportunity  for  seizing 


120 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  Ill 


all  the  patriot  leaders  at  once ;  and  the  meeting  itself,  more- 
over, was  a  town  meeting,  such  as  Gage  had  come  to  Bos- 
ton expressly  to  put  down.  Nothing  more  calmly  defiant 
can  be  imagined  than  the  conduct  of  people  and  leaders 
under  these  circumstances.  But  Gage  had  long  since  learned 
the  temper  of  the  people  so  well  that  he  was  afraid  to  pro- 
Attempt  ceed  too  violently.  At  first  he  had  tried  to  cor- 
Samuei"1*  ruPt  Samuel  Adams  with  offers  of  place  or  pelf ; 
Adams  DUt  he  found,  as  Hutchinson  had  already  declared, 
that  such  was  "the  obstinate  and  inflexible  disposition  of 


OLD    NORTH    CHURCH,    IN    WHICH   SIGNAL   WAS    HUNG 


this  man  that  he  never  would  be  conciliated  by  any  office  or 
gift  whatsoever."  The  dissolution  of  the  assembly,  of  which 
Adams  was  clerk,  had  put  a  stop  to  his  salary,  and  he  had 
so  little  property  laid  by  as  hardly  to  be  able  to  buy  bread 
for  his  family.     Under  these  circumstances,  it  occurred  to 


1775 


THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS  121 


Gage  that  perhaps  a  judicious  mixture  of  threat  with  persua- 
sion might  prove  effectual.  So  he  sent  Colonel  Fenton 
with  a  confidential  message  to  Adams.  The  officer,  with 
great  politeness,  began  by  saying  that  "an  adjustment  of 
the  existing  disputes  was  very  desirable ;  that  he  was  au- 
thorized by  Governor  Gage  to  assure  him  that  he  had  been 
empowered  to  confer  upon  him  such  benefits  as  would  be 
satisfactory,  upon  the  condition  that  he  would  engage  to 
cease  in  his  opposition  to  the  measures  of  government,  and 
that  it  was  the  advice  of  Governor  Gage  to  him  not  to  incur 
the  further  displeasure  of  his  Maj  esty  ;  that  his  conduct  had 
been  such  as  made  him  liable  to  the  penalties  of  an  act  of 
Henry  VIII.,  by  which  persons  could  be  sent  to  England 
for  trial,  and,  by  changing  his  course,  he  would  not  only 
receive  great  personal  advantages,  but  would  thereby  make 
his  peace  with  the  king."  Adams  listened  with  apparent 
interest  to  this  recital  until  the  messenger  had  concluded. 
Then  rising,  he  replied,  glowing  with  indignation :  "  Sir,  I 
trust  I  have  long  since  made  my  peace  with  the  King  of 
kings.  No  personal  consideration  shall  induce  me  to  aban- 
don the  righteous  cause  of  my  country.  Tell  Governor 
Gage  it  is  the  advice  of  Samuel  Adams  to  him  no  longer  to 
insult  the  feelings  of  an  exasperated  people." 

Toward  the  end  of  the  winter  Gage  received  peremptory 
orders  to  arrest  Adams  and  Hancock,  and  send  orders  to 
them  to  England  for  trial.  One  of  the  London  Adams  and 
papers  gayly  observed  that  in  all  probability  Tern-  Hancock 
pie  Bar  "  will  soon  be  decorated  with  some  of  the  patriotic 
noddles  of  the  Boston  saints."  The  provincial  congress  met 
at  Concord  on  the  22d  of  March,  and  after  its  adjournment, 
on  the    15th    of  April, 

Adams    and    Hancock  ~         *  /?        /       » 

stayed    a   few  days   at      (1^0^^^^^/^ 
Lexington,  at  the  house      *""^     J  ^~ — *^z^ 

of  their  friend,  the  Rev. 

Jonas  Clark.  It  would  doubtless  be  easier  to  seize  them 
there  than  in  Boston,  and,  accordingly,  on  the  night  of  the 


122 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  Ill 


REV.   JONAS   CLARK'S   HOUSE 


1 8th  Gage  dispatched  a  force  of  800  troops,  under  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Francis  Smith,  to  march  to  Lexington,  and,  after 
seizing  the  patriot  leaders,  to  proceed  to  Concord,  and  cap- 
ture or  destroy  the  military  stores  which  had  for  some  time 
been  collecting  there.  At  ten  in  the  evening  the  troops  were 
rowed  across  Charles  river,  and  proceeded  by  a  difficult  and 
unfrequented  route  through  the  marshes  of  East  Cambridge, 
until,  after  four  miles,  they  struck  into  the  highroad  for  Lex- 
ington. The  greatest  possible  secrecy  was  observed,  and 
stringent  orders  were  given  that  no  one  should  be  allowed 
to  leave  Boston  that  night.  But  Warren  divined  the  purpose 
Paul  Re-  °f  tne  movement,  and  sent  out  Paul  Revere  by 
vere's  ride  wav  0f  Charlestown,  and  William  Dawes  by  way  of 
Roxbury,  to  give  the  alarm.  At  that  time  there  was  no 
bridge  across  Charles  river  lower  than  the  one  which  now 
connects  Cambridge  with  Allston.  Crossing  the  broad  river 
in  a  little  boat,  under  the  very  guns  of  the  Somerset  man- 
of-war,  and  waiting  on  the  farther  bank  until  he  learned, 


1775 


THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS 


123 


from  a  lantern  suspended  in  the  belfry  of  the  North  Church, 
which  way  the  troops  had  gone,  Revere  took  horse  and 
galloped  over  the  Medford  road  to  Lexington,  shouting  the 
news  at  the  door  of  every  house  that  he  passed.  Reaching 
Mr.  Clark's  a  little  after  midnight,  he  found  the  house 
guarded  by  eight  minute-men,  and  the  sergeant  warned  him 


<Z7 


not  to  make  a  noise  and  disturb  the  inmates.  "Noise!" 
cried  Revere.  "  You  '11  soon  have  noise  enough  ;  the  regu- 
lars are  coming!"  Hancock,  recognizing  the  voice,  threw 
up  the  window,  and  ordered  the  guard  to  let  him  in.  On 
learning  the  news,  Hancock's  first  impulse  was  to  stay  and 
take  command  of  the  militia ;  but  it  was  presently  agreed 
that  there  was  no  good  reason  for  his  doing  so,  and  shortly 
before  daybreak,  in  company  with  Adams,  he  left  the  vil- 
lage. 

Meanwhile,  the   troops  were  marching   along  the  main 


124 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  Ill 


road ;  but  swift  and  silent  as  was  their  advance,  frequent 
alarm-bells  and  signal-guns,  and  lights  twinkling  on  distant 
hilltops,  showed  but  too  plainly  that  the  secret  was  out. 
Colonel  Smith  then  sent  Major  Pitcairn  forward  with  six 
companies  of  light  infantry  to  make  all  possible  haste  in 
securing  the  bridges  over  Concord  river,  while  at  the  same 
time  he  prudently  sent  back  to 

Boston  for  reinforcements.  When       tl/'/J  jff     / 

Pitcairn  reached  Lexington,  just      ZJ v/t^l  %k/fAZ/J^ 
as  the  rising  sun  was  casting  long 

shadows  across  the  village  green,  he  found  himself  con- 
fronted by  some  fifty  minute-men  under  command  of  Cap- 
tain John  Parker,  —  grandfather  of  Theodore  Parker,  —  a 
hardy  veteran,  who,  fifteen  years  before,  had  climbed  the 
pitcairn  heights  of  Abraham  by  the  side  of  Wolfe.  "  Stand 
theyec?-°n  vour  ground,"  said  Parker.  "Don't  fire  unless 
Aa?nYi  ^rec*  uPon  >  but  if  tney  mean  t0  have  a  war,  let  it 
1775  begin  here."    "  Disperse,  ye  villains  !  "  shouted  Pit- 

cairn. "  Damn  you,  why  don't  you  disperse  ? "  And  as 
they  stood  motionless  he  gave  the  order  to  fire.  As  the 
soldiers  hesitated  to  obey,  he  discharged  his  own  pistol  and 


JONATHAN    HARRINGTON'S    HOUSE 


1775 


THE    CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS 


25 


repeated  the  order,  whereupon  a  deadly  volley  slew  eight  of 
the  minute-men  and  wounded  ten.  One  of  the  victims, 
Jonathan  Harrington,  was  just  able  to  stagger  across  the 
green  to  his  own  house 
(which  is  still  there),  and 
to  die  in  the  arms  of  his 
wife,  who  was  standing  at 
the  door.  At  this  mo- 
ment the  head  of  Smith's 
own  column  seems  to  have 
come  into  sight,  far  down 
the  road.  The  minute-men 
had  begun  to  return  the 
fire,  when  Parker,  seeing 
the  folly  of  resistance, 
ordered  them  to  retire. 
While  this  was  going  on, 
Adams  and  Hancock  were 
walking  across  the  fields 
toward  Woburn  ;  and  as  the 
crackle  of  distant  musketry 
reached  their  ears,  the 
eager  Adams  —  his  soul 
aglow  with  the  prophecy 
of  the  coming  deliverance 
of  his  country  —  exclaimed, 
"  Oh,  what  a  glorious  morn- 
ing is  this  !  "  From  Woburn  the  two  friends  went  on  their 
way  to  Philadelphia,  where  the  second  Continental  Congress 
was  about  to  assemble. 

1  On  the  pedestal  of  this  statue,  which  stands  in  front  of  the  North 
Bridge  at  Concord,  is  engraved  the  following  quotation  from  Emerson's 
"  Concord  Hymn  :  "  — 

By  the  rude  bridge  that  arched  the  flood, 

Their  flag  to  April's  breeze  unfurled, 
Here  once  the  embattled  farmers  stood, 

And  fired  the  shot  heard  round  the  world. 

The  poet's  grandfather,  Rev.  William  Emerson,  watched  the  fight 
from  a  window  of  the  Old  Manse. 


THE    MINUTE-MAN  1 


126 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  Ill 


THE    OLD    MANSE    AT    CONCORD 


Some  precious  minutes  had  been  lost  by  the  British  at 
Lexington,  and  it  soon  became  clear  that  the  day  was  to  be 
one  in  which  minutes  could  ill  be  spared.  By  the  time  they 
reached  Concord,  about  seven  o'clock,  the  greater  part  of 
the  stores  had  been  effectually  hidden,  and  minute-men 
were  rapidly  gathering  from  all  quarters.  After  posting 
small  forces  to  guard  the  bridges,  the  troops  set  fire  to 
the  court-house,  cut  down  the  liberty-pole,  disabled  a  few 
cannon,  staved  in  a  few  barrels  of  flour,  and  hunted  unsuc- 
cessfully for  arms  and  ammunition,  until  an  unexpected  inci- 

The  troo  s  ^ent  Put  a  stoP  t0  tneu*  proceedings.  When  the 
repulsed  at  force  of  minute-men,  watching  events  from  the  hill 
beyond  the  river,  had  become  increased  to  more 
than  400,  they  suddenly  advanced  upon  the  North  Bridge, 
which  was  held  by  200  regulars.  After  receiving  and 
returning  the  British  fire,  the  militia,  led  by  Major  But- 
trick,  charged  across  the  narrow  bridge,  overcame  the  regu- 
lars by  dint  of  weight  and  numbers,  and  drove  them  back 


1775 


THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS 


127 


past  the  Old  Manse  into  the  village.  They  did  not  follow 
up  the  attack,  but  rested  on  their  arms,  wondering,  perhaps, 
at  what  they  had  already  accomplished,  while  their  numbers 
were  from  moment  to  moment  increased  by  the  minute-men 
from  neighbouring  villages.  A  little  before  noon,  though 
none  of  the  objects  of  the  expedition  had  been  accomplished, 
Colonel  Smith  began  to  realize  the  danger  of  his  position, 
and  started  on  his  retreat  to  Boston.  His  men  were  in  no 
mood  for  fight.  They  had  marched  eighteen  miles,  and  had 
eaten  little  or  nothing  for  fourteen  hours.  But  now,  while 
companies  of  militia  hovered  upon  both  their  flanks,  every 
clump  of  trees  and  every  bit  of  rising  ground  by  the  road- 


side gave  shelter  to  hostile  yeomen,  whose  aim  was  true  and 
deadly.  Straggling  combats  ensued  from  time  to  time,  and 
the  retreating  British  left  nothing  undone  which  brave  men 
could  do;  but  the  incessant,  galling  fire  at  length  threw 


128  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  hi 


PITCAIRN'S     PISTOLS 


them  into  hopeless  confusion.  Leaving  their  wounded  scat- 
Retreating  tered  along  the  road,  they  had  already  passed  by 
cu°edPbyres  tne  village  green  of  Lexington  in  disorderly  flight, 
Lord  Percy  wnen  they  were  saved  by  Lord  Percy,  who '  had 
marched  out  over  Boston  Neck  and  through  Cambridge  to 
their  assistance,  with  1,200  men  and  two  field-pieces.  Form- 
ing his  men  in  a  hollow  square,  Percy  inclosed  the  fugitives, 
who,  in  dire  exhaustion,  threw  themselves  upon  the  ground, 
—  "their  tongues  hanging  out  of  their  mouths,"  says  Colonelv 
Stedman,  "like  those  of  dogs  after  a  chase."  Many  had'1 
thrown  away  their  muskets,  and  Pitcairn  had  lost  his  horse, 
with  the  elegant  pistols  which  fired  the  first  shots  of  the 
War  of  Independence,  and  which  may  be  seen  to-day,  along 
with  other  trophies,  in  the  town  library  of  Lexington. 

Percy's  timely  arrival  checked  the  pursuit  for  an  hour,  and 
gave  the  starved  and  weary  men  a  chance  for  food  and  rest. 
A  few  houses  were  pillaged  and  set  on  fire,  but  at  three 
o'clock  General  Heath  and  Dr.  Warren  arrived  on  the  scene 
and  took  command  of  the  militia,  and  the  irregular  fight  was 
renewed.  When  Percy  reached  Menotomy  (now  Arlington), 
seven  miles  from  Boston,  his  passage  was  disputed  by  a 
fresh  force  of   militia,  while  pursuers  pressed  hard  on  his 


1775 


THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS 


129 


rear,  and  it  was  only  after  an  obstinate  fight  that  he  suc- 
ceeded  in   forcing   his   way.      The   roadside   now    Retreat 
fairly  swarmed  with  marksmen,  insomuch  that,  as   from  Lex- 
one  of  the  British  officers  observed,  "  they  seemed   jgjjj^0 
to  have  dropped  from  the  clouds."     It  became  im-   town 
possible  to  keep  order  or  to  carry  away  the  wounded  ;  and 
when,  at  sunset,  the  troops  entered  Charlestown,  under  the 
welcome  shelter  of  the  fleet,  it  was  upon  the  full  run.    They 
were  not  a  moment  too  soon,  for  Colonel  Timothy  Picker- 
ing, with  700  Essex  militia,  on  the  way  to  intercept  them, 
had  already  reached  Winter  Hill ;  and  had  their  road  been 
blocked  by  this   fresh  force   they  must   in   all  probability 
have  surrendered. 

On  this  eventful  day  the  British  lost  273  of  their  number, 
while  the  Americans  lost  93.  The  expedition  had  been  a 
failure,  the  whole  British  force  had  barely  escaped  capture, 
and  it  had  been  shown  that  the  people  could  not  be  fright- 
ened into  submission.  It  had  been  shown,  too,  how  efficient 
the  town  system  of  organized  militia  might  prove  on  a  sud- 


FANCIFUL   PICTURE   OF  THE   CONCORD-LEXINGTON   FIGHT 
{From  a  contemporary  French  print) 


130  THE  AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  in 

den  emergency.  The  most  interesting  feature  of  the  day 
Rising  of  is  the  rapidity  and  skill  with  which  the  different 
try^the1"  bodies  of  minute-men,  marching  from  long  dis- 
Ei^edin  tances>  were  massed  at  those  points  on  the  road 
Boston  where  they  might  most  effectually  harass  or  im- 
pede the  British  retreat.  The  Danvers  company  marched  six- 
teen miles  in  four  hours  to  strike  Lord  Percy  at  Menotomy. 
The  list  of  killed  and  wounded  shows  that  contingents  from 
at  least  twenty-three  towns  had  joined  in  the  fight  before 
sundown.  But  though  the  pursuit  was  then  ended,  these 
men  did  not  return  to  their  homes,  but  hour  by  hour  their 
numbers  increased.  At  noon  of  that  day  the  alarm  had 
reached  Worcester.  Early  next  morning,  Israel  Putnam  was, 
ploughing  a  field  at  Pomfret,  in  Connecticut,  when  the  news 
arrived.  Leaving  orders  for  the  militia  companies  to  follow, 
he  jumped  on  his  horse,  and  riding  a  hundred  miles  in  eigh- 
teen hours,  arrived  in  Cambridge  on  the  morning  of  the  2 1  St, 
just  in  time  to  meet  John  Stark  with  the  first  company  from 
New  Hampshire.  At  midday  of  the  20th  the  college  green 
at  New  Haven  swarmed  with  eager  students  and  citizens, 
and  Captain  Benedict  Arnold,  gathering  sixty  volunteers 
from  among  them,  placed  himself  at  their  head  and  marched 
for  Cambridge,  picking  up  recruits  and  allies  at  all  the 
villages  on  the  way.  And  thus,  from  every  hill  and  valley 
in  New  England,  on  they  came,  till,  by  Saturday  night, 
Gage  found  himself  besieged  in  Boston  by  a  rustic  army  of 
16,000  men. 

When  the  news  of  this  affair  reached  England,  five  weeks 
later,  it  was  received  at  first  with  incredulity,  then  with 
astonishment  and  regret.  Slight  as  the  contest  had  been,, 
it  remained  undeniable  that  British  troops  had  been  defeated 
by  what  in  England  was  regarded  as  a  crowd  of  "peasants ;" 
and  it  was  felt  besides  that  the  chances  for  conciliation  had 
now  been  seriously  diminished.  Burke  said  that  now  that  the 
Americans  had  once  gone  so  far  as  this,  they  could  hardly 
help  going  farther ;  and  in  spite  of  the  condemnation  that 
had  been  lavished  upon  Gage  for  his  inactivity,  many  people 


132 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  Ill 


ST.   JOHN'S   CHURCH,   RICHMOND  1 


were  now  inclined  to  find  fault  with  him  for  having  precipi- 
Effectsof  tated  a  conflict  just  at  the  time  when  it  was  hoped 
the  news  tha^  with  the  aid  of  the  New  York  loyalists,  some 
sort  of  accommodation  might  be  effected.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  news  from  Lexington  thoroughly  disconcerted 
the  loyalists  of  New  York  for  the  moment,  and  greatly 
strengthened  the  popular  party  there.  In  a  manifesto  ad- 
dressed to  the  city  of  London,  the  New  York  committee  of 
correspondence  deplored  the  conduct  of  Gage  as  rash  and 
violent,  and  declared  that  all  the  horrors  of  civil  war  would 
never  bring  the  Americans  to  submit  to  the  unjust  acts  of 

1  It  was  in  this  church  on  March  23,  1775,  that  Patrick  Henry  made 
the  famous  speech  in  which  he  said,  "It  is  too  late  to  retire  from  the 
contest.  There  is  no  retreat  but  in  submission  and  slavery.  The  war 
is  inevitable,  and  let  it  come!  The  next  gale  that  sweeps  from  the 
north  will  bring  to  our  ears  the  clash  of  resounding  arms !  I  know  not 
what  course  others  may  take,  but  as  for  me,  give  me  liberty  or  give  me 
death." 


1775  THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS  133 

Parliament.  When  Hancock  and  Adams  arrived,  on  their 
way  to  the  Congress,  they  were  escorted  through  the  city 
with  triumphal  honours.  In  Pennsylvania  steps  were  imme- 
diately taken  for  the  enlistment  and  training  of  a  colonial 
militia,  and  every  colony  to  the  south  of  it  followed  the 
example. 

The  Scotch-Irish  patriots  of  Mecklenburg  county,  in 
North  Carolina,  ventured  upon  a  measure  more  decided 
than  any  that  had  yet  been  taken  in  any  part  of  Meckien- 
the  country.  On  May  31st,  the  county  committee  county 
of  Mecklenburg  affirmed  that  the  joint  address  of  J^1^8' 
the  two  Houses  of  Parliament  to  the  king,  in  Feb-  J775 
ruary,  had  virtually  "annulled  and  vacated  all  civil  and 
military  commissions  granted  by  the  Crown,  and  suspended 
the  constitutions  of  the  colonies ; "  and  that  consequently 
"  the  provincial  congress  of  each  province,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  great  Continental  Congress,  is  invested  with  all 
the  legislative  and  executive  powers  within  their  respective 
provinces,  and  that  no  other  legislative  or  executive  power 
does  or  can  exist  at  this  time  in  any  of  these  colonies."  In 
accordance  with  this  state  of  things,  rules  were  adopted 
"  for  the  choice  of  county  officers,  to  exercise  authority  by 
virtue  of  this  choice  and  independently  of  the  British  Crown, 
until  Parliament  should  resign  its  arbitrary  pretensions." 
These  bold  resolves  were  entrusted  to  the  North  Carolina 
delegates  to  the  Continental  Congress,  but  were  not  formally 
brought  before  that  body,  as  the  delegates  thought  it  best 
to  wait  for  a  while  longer  the  course  of  events. 

Some  twenty  years  later  they  gave  rise  to  the  legend  of 
the   Mecklenburg    Declaration   of    Independence.    Legen(jof 
The  early  writers  of  United  States  history  passed   *he, Meck- 

*  J  lenburg 

over  the  proceedings  of  May  31st  in  silence,  and   "Deciara- 
presently  the  North  Carolina  patriots  tried  to  sup-   independ- 
ply  an  account  of  them  from  memory.    Their  tradi-   ence" 
tional  account  was  not  published  until   18 19,  when  it  was 
found  to  contain  a  spurious  document,  giving  the  substance 
of  some  of  the  foregoing  resolves,  decorated  with  phrases 


i34 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  Ill 


borrowed  from  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  This 
document  purported  to  have  been  drawn  up  and  signed  at 
a  county  meeting  on  the  20th  of  May.  A  fierce  contro- 
versy sprang  up  over  the  genuineness  of  the  document, 
which  was  promptly  called  in  question.  For  a  long  time 
many  people  believed  in   it,  and  were  inclined   to  charge 


i/sfiif  fjl^?7^A 


SIGNATURES   OF   MECKLENBURG   COMMITTEE 


1775  THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS  135 

Jefferson  with  having  plagiarized  from  it  in  writing  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  But  a  minute  investigation 
of  all  the  newspapers  of  May,  1775,  throughout  the  thirteen 
colonies,  has  revealed  no  trace  of  any  such  meeting  on  the 
20th,  and  it  is  clear  that  no  such  document  was  made  public. 
The  story  of  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration  is  simply  a  legend 
based  upon  the  distorted  recollection  of  the  real  proceedings 
of  May  31st. 

Meanwhile,  in  New  England,  the  warlike  feeling  had  be- 
come too  strong  to  be  contented  merely  with  defensive 
measures.  No  sooner  had  Benedict  Arnold  reached  Cam- 
bridge than  he  suggested  to  Dr.  Warren  that  an  expedition 
ought  to  be  sent  without  delay  to  capture  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point.  These  fortresses  commanded  the  northern 
approaches  to  the  Hudson  river,  the  strategic  centre  of  the 
whole  country,  and  would  be  of  supreme  importance  either 
in  preparing  an  invasion  of  Canada  or  in  warding  off  an  in- 
vasion of  New  York.  Besides  this,  they  contained  Benedict 
a  vast  quantity  of  military  stores,  of  which  the  Ethal?*™1 
newly  gathered  army  stood  in  sore  need.  The  idea  AUen 
found  favour  at  once.  Arnold  received  a  colonel's  commis- 
sion from  the  Massachusetts  Congress,  and  was  instructed 
to  raise  400  men  among  the  Berkshire  Hills,  capture  the 
fortresses,  and  superintend  the  transfer  of  part  of  their  arma- 
ment to  Cambridge.  When  Arnold  reached  the  wild  hill- 
sides of  the  Hoosac  range,  he  found  that  he  had  a  rival  in 
the  enterprise.  The  capture  of  Ticonderoga  had  also  been 
secretly  planned  in  Connecticut,  and  was  entrusted  to  Ethan 
Allen,  the  eccentric  but  sagacious  author  of  that  now-for- 
gotten deistical  book,  "The  Oracles  of  Reason.' '  Allen  was 
a  leading  spirit  among  the  "  Green  Mountain  Boys,"  an  asso- 
ciation of  Vermont  settlers  formed  for  the  purpose  of  resist- 
ing the  jurisdiction  of  New  York,  and  his  personal  popularity 
was  great.  On  the  9th  of  May  Arnold  overtook  Allen  and 
his  men  on  their  march  toward  Lake  Champlain,  and  claimed 
the  command  of  the  expedition  on  the  strength  of  his  com- 
mission from  Massachusetts ;  but  the  Green  Mountain  Boys 


136 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  Ill 


were  acting  partly  on  their  own  account,  partly  under  the 
direction  of  Connecticut.  They  cared  nothing  for  the  au- 
thority of  Massachusetts,  and  knew  nothing  of  Arnold ;  they 
had  come  out  to  fight  under  their  own  trusted  leader.  But 
few  of  Arnold's  own  men  had  as  yet  assembled,  and  his 


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commission  could  not  give  him  command  of  Vermonters,  so 
he  joined  the  expedition  as  a  volunteer.  On  reaching  the 
lake  that  night,  they  found  there  were  not  nearly  enough 
row-boats  to  convey  the  men  across.  But  delay  was  not  to 
be  thought  of.  The  garrison  must  not  be  put  on  its  guard. 
Accordingly,  with  only  eighty-three  men,  Allen  and  Arnold 
crossed  the  lake  at  daybreak  of  the  10th,  and  entered  Ticon- 
deroga  side  by  side.  The  little  garrison,  less  than  half  as 
Capture  of  many  in  number,  as  it  turned  out,  was  completely 
oga  and  surprised,  and  the  stronghold  was  taken  without  a 
PohTtnMaY  bl°w-  As  tne  commandant  jumped  out  of  bed, 
10, 1775  half  awake,  he  confusedly  inquired  of  Allen  by 
whose  authority  he  was  acting.     "  In  the  name  of  the  Great 


177 '5 


THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS 


137 


Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Congress  !  "  roared  the  bel- 
licose philosopher,  and  the  commandant,  seeing  the  fort  al- 
ready taken,  was  fain  to  acquiesce.    At  the  same  time  Crown 


^yAa^r^pi^ri/ 


Point  surrendered  to  another  famous  Green  Mountain  Boy, 
Seth  Warner,  and  thus  more  than  two  hundred  cannon,  with 
a  large  supply  of  powder  and  ball,  were  obtained  for  the 
New  England  army.     A  few  days  later,  as  some  of  Arnold's 


138 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  Ill 


own  men  arrived  from  Berkshire,  he  sailed  down  Lake 
Champlain,  and  captured  St.  John's  with  its  garrison ;  but 
the  British  recovered  it  in  the  course  of  the  summer,  and 
planted  such  a  force  there  that  in  the  next  autumn  we  shall 
see  it  able  to  sustain  a  siege  of  fifty  days. 

Neither  Connecticut  nor  Massachusetts  had  any  authority 
over  these  posts  save  through  right  of  conquest.  As  it  was 
Connecticut  that  had  set  Allen's  expedition  on  foot,  Massa- 
chusetts yielded  the  point  as  to  the  disposal  of  the  fortresses 


and  their  garrisons.  Dr.  Warren  urged  the  Connecticut 
government  to  appoint  Arnold  to  the  command,  so  that  his 
commission  might  be  held  of  both  colonies  ;  but  Connecti- 
cut preferred  to  retain  Allen,  and  in  July  Arnold  returned 
to  Cambridge  to  mature  his  remarkable  plan  for  invading 
Canada  through  the  trackless  wilderness  of  Maine.  His 
slight  disagreement  with  Allen  bore  evil  fruit.  As  is  often 
the  case  in  such  affairs,  the  men  were  more  zealous  than 
their  commanders  ;  there  were  those  who  denounced  Arnold 


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1775  THE    CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS  141 

as  an  interloper,  and  he  was  destined  to  hear  from  them 
again  and  again. 

On  the  same  day 1  on  which  Ticonderoga  surrendered,  the 
Continental  Congress  met  at  Philadelphia.  The  Second 
Adamses  and  the  Livingstons,  Jay,  Henry,  Wash-  S^cont?- 
ington,  and  Lee  were  there,  as  also  Franklin,  just  g^Say" 
back  from  his  long  service  in  England.  Of  all  the  I0>  J775 
number,  John  Adams  and  Franklin  had  now,  probably,  come 
to  agree  with  Samuel  Adams  that  a  political  separation  from 
Great  Britain  was  inevitable ;  but  all  were  fully  agreed  that 
any  consideration  of  such  a  question  was  at  present  prema- 
ture and  uncalled  for.  The  Congress  was  a  body  which 
wielded  no  technical  legal  authority  ;  it  was  but  a  group  of 
committees,  assembled  for  the  purpose  of  advising  with  each 
other  regarding  the  public  weal.  Yet  something  very  like  a 
state  of  war  existed  in  a  part  of  the  country,  under  conditions 
which  intimately  concerned  the  whole,  and  in  the  absence 
of  any  formally  constituted  government  something  must  be 
done  to  provide  for  such  a  crisis.  The  spirit  of  the  assembly 
was  well  shown  in  its  choice  of  a  president.  Peyton  Ran- 
dolph being  called  back  to  Virginia  to  preside  over  the  colo- 
nial assembly,  Thomas  Jefferson  was  sent  to  the  Congress 
in  his  stead  ;  and  it  also  became  necessary  for  Congress  to 
choose  a  president  to  succeed  him.  The  proscribed  John 
Hancock  was  at  once  chosen,  and  Benjamin  Harrison,  in 
conducting  him  to  the  chair,  said,  "We  will  show  Great 
Britain  how  much  we  value  her  proscriptions."  To  the 
garrisoning  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  by  Connecti- 
cut, the  Congress  consented  only  after  much  hesitation, 
since  the  capture  of  these  posts  had  been  an  act  of  offensive 
warfare.  But  without  any  serious  opposition,  in  the  name 
of  the  "  United  Colonies,"  the  Congress  adopted  the  army 

1  In  the  letter,  of  which  a  facsimile  is  here  given,  Allen  gives  the 
date  of  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga  as  the  1  ith,  but  a  minute  survey  of 
the  contemporary  newspaper  and  other  sources  of  information  makes 
it  clear  that  this  must  be  a  slip  of  the  pen.  In  his  personal  "  Narra- 
tive," Allen  gives  the  date  correctly  as  the  10th. 


142  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  hi 

of  New  England  men  besieging  Boston  as  the  "  Continental 
Army,"  and  proceeded  to  appoint  a  commander-in-chief  to 
direct  its  operations.  Practically,  this  was  the  most  impor- 
tant step  taken  in  the  whole  course  of  the  War  of  Independ- 
ence. Nothing  less  than  the  whole  issue  of  the  struggle, 
for  ultimate  defeat  or  for  ultimate  victory,  turned  upon  the 
Appoint-  selection  to  be  made  at  this  crisis.  For  nothing 
ment  of        can  be  clearer  than  that  in  any  other  hands  than 

Washing-  J 

ton  to  com-  those  of  George  Washington  the  military  result 
Continen-  of  the  war  must  have  been  speedily  disastrous  to 
tai  army  ^q  Americans.  In  appointing  a  Virginian  to  the 
command  of  a  New  England  army,  the  Congress  showed 
rare  wisdom.  It  would  well  have  accorded  with  local  preju- 
dices had  a  New  England  general  been  appointed.  John 
Hancock  greatly  desired  the  appointment,  and  seems  to  have 
been  chagrined  at  not  receiving  it.  But  it  was  wisely  decided 
that  the  common  interest  of  all  Americans  could  in  no  way 
be  more  thoroughly  engaged  in  the  war  than  by  putting  the 
New  England  army  in  charge  of  a  general  who  represented 
in  his  own  person  the  greatest  of  the  Southern  colonies. 
Washington  was  now  commander  of  the  militia  of  Virginia, 
and  sat  in  Congress  in  his  colonel's  uniform.  His  services 
in  saving  the  remnant  of  Braddock's  ill-fated  army,  and 
afterwards  in  the  capture  of  Fort  Duquesne,  had  won  for 
him  a  military  reputation  greater  than  that  of  any  other 
American.  Besides  this,  there  was  that  which,  from  his 
early  youth,  had  made  it  seem  right  to  entrust  him  with 
commissions  of  extraordinary  importance.  Nothing  in 
Washington's  whole  career  is  more  remarkable  than  the  fact 
that  when  a  mere  boy  of  twenty-one  he  should  have  been 
selected  by  the  governor  of  Virginia  to  take  charge  of  that 
most  delicate  and  dangerous  diplomatic  mission  to  the  Indian 
chiefs  and  the  French  commander  at  Venango.  Consum- 
mate knowledge  of  human  nature  as  well  as  of  wood-craft,  a 
courage  that  no  threats  could  daunt  and  a  clear  intelligence 
that  no  treachery  could  hoodwink,  were  the  qualities  abso- 
lutely demanded  by  such  an  undertaking ;  yet  the  young 


1775 


THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS 


143 


man  acquitted  himself  of  his  perilous  task  not  merely  with 
credit,  but  with  splendour.  As  regards  booklore,  his  educa- 
tion had  been  but  meagre,  yet  he  possessed  in  the  very  high- 
est degree  the  rare  faculty  of  always  discerning  the  essential 
facts  in  every  case,  and  interpreting  them  correctly.  In  the 
Continental  Congress  there  sat  many  who  were  superior  to 
him  in  learning  and  eloquence  ;  but  "if,"  said  Patrick  Henry, 


WASHINGTON  AT  THE  AGE  OF  FORTY 


"you  speak  of  solid  information  and  sound  judgment,  Colo- 
nel Washington  is  unquestionably  the  greatest  man  upon 
that  floor."  Thus  did  that  wonderful  balance  of  mind  —  so 
great  that  in  his  whole  career  it  would  be  hard  to  point  out 
a  single  mistake  —  already  impress  his  ablest  contemporaries. 


144  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  hi 

Hand  in  hand  with  this  rare  soundness  of  judgment  there 
went  a  completeness  of  moral  self-control,  which  was  all  the 
more  impressive  inasmuch  as  Washington's  was  by  no  means 
a  tame  or  commonplace  nature,  such  as  ordinary  power  of 
will  would  suffice  to  guide.  He  was  a  man  of  intense  and 
fiery  passions.  His  anger,  when  once  aroused,  had  in  it 
something  so  terrible  that  strong  men  were  cowed  by  it  like 
frightened  children.  This  prodigious  animal  nature  was 
habitually  curbed  by  a  will  of  iron,  and  held  in  the  service 
of  a  sweet  and  tender  soul,  into  which  no  mean  or  unworthy 
thought  had  ever  entered.  Whole-souled  devotion  to  public 
duty,  an  incorruptible  integrity  which  no  appeal  to  ambition 
or  vanity  could  for  a  moment  solicit,  — these  were  attributes 
of  Washington,  as  well  marked  as  his  clearness  of  mind  and 
his  strength  of  purpose.  And  it  was  in  no  unworthy  temple 
that  Nature  had  enshrined  this  great  spirit.  His  lofty  stat- 
ure (exceeding  six  feet),  his  grave  and  handsome  face,  his 
noble  bearing  and  courtly  grace  of  manner,  all  proclaimed 
in  Washington  a  king  of  men. 

The  choice  of  Washington  for  commander-in-chief  was 
suggested  and  strongly  urged  by  John  Adams,  and  when, 
on  the  15th  of  June,  the  nomination  was  formally  made  by 
Thomas  Johnson  of  Maryland,  it  was  unanimously  con- 
firmed. Then  Washington,  rising,  said  with  great  earnest- 
ness :  "  Since  the  Congress  desire,  I  will  enter  upon  the 
momentous  duty,  and  exert  every  power  I  possess  in  their 
service  and  for  the  support  of  the  glorious  cause.  But  I 
beg  it  may  be  remembered  by  every  gentleman  in  the  room 
that  I  this  day  declare,  with  the  utmost  sincerity,  I  do  not 
think  myself  equal  to  the  command  I  am  honoured  with." 
He  refused  to  take  any  pay  for  his  services,  but  said  he 
would  keep  an  accurate  account  of  his  personal  expenses, 
which  Congress  might  reimburse,  should  it  see  fit,  after  the 
close  of  the  war. 

While  these  things  were  going  on  at  Philadelphia,  the 
army  of  New  England  men  about  Boston  was  busily  pressing, 
to  the  best  of  its  limited  ability,   the  siege  of  that  town. 


1775 


THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS 


145 


The  army  extended  in  a  great  semicircle  of  sixteen  miles,  — 
averaging  about  a  thousand  men  to  the  mile,  —  siege  of 
all  the  way  from  Jamaica  Plain  to  Charlestown  Boston 
Neck.  The  headquarters  were  at  Cambridge,  where  some 
of  the  university  buildings  were  used  for  barracks,  and  the 
chief  command  had  been  entrusted  to  General  Artemas 
Ward,  under  the  direction 
of  the  committee  of  safety. 
Dr.  Warren  had  succeeded 
Hancock  as  president  of  the 
provincial  congress,  which 
was  in  session  at  Water- 
town.  The  army  was  ex- 
cellent in  spirit,  but  poorly 
equipped  and  extremely  de- 
ficient in  discipline.  Its 
military  object  was  to  com- 
pel the  British  troops  to 
evacuate  Boston  and  take 
to  their  ships  ;  for  as  there  /  -U— 

was  no  American  fleet,  any-    ^yplt  lXll^LCC& 
thing  like  the  destruction 

or  capture  of  the  British  force  was  manifestly  impossible. 
The  only  way  in  which  Boston  could  be  made  untenable  for 
the  British  was  by  seizing  and  fortifying  some  of  the  neigh- 
bouring hills  which  commanded  the  town,  of  which  the  most 
important  were  those  in  Charlestown  on  the  north  and  in 
Dorchester  on  the  southeast  To  secure  these  hills  was 
indispensable  to  Gage,  if  he  was  to  keep  his  foothold  in 
Boston ;  and  as  soon  as  Howe,  Clinton,  and  Burgoyne 
arrived,  on  the  25th  of  May,  with  reinforcements  which 
raised  the  British  force  to  10,000  men,  a  plan  was  laid  for 
extending  the  lines  so  as  to  cover  both  Charlestown  and 
Dorchester.     Feeling    now    confident    of    victory,  , 

Gage  issued  a  proclamation  on  June  12th,  offering   prociama- 
free  pardon  to  all  rebels  who  should  lay  down  their 
arms  and  return  to  their  allegiance,  saving  only  those  ring- 


146  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  in 

leaders,  John  Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams,  whose  crimes 
had  been  "too  flagitious  to  be  condoned."  At  the  same 
time,  all  who  should  be  taken  in  arms  were  threatened  with 
the  gallows.  In  reply  to  this  manifesto,  the  committee  of 
safety,  having  received  intelligence  of  Gage's  scheme,  or- 
dered out  a  force  of  1,200  men,  to  forestall  the  governor, 
and  take  possession  of  Bunker  Hill  in  Charlestown.  At 
sunset  of  the  16th  this  brigade  was  paraded  on  Cambridge 
Common,  and  after  prayer  had  been  offered  by  Dr.  Langdon, 
president  of  the  university,  they  set  out  on  their  enterprise, 
under  command  of  Colonel  Prescott  of  Pepperell,  a  veteran 

of  the  French  war,  grand- 
father of  one  of  the  most 
eminent  of  American  his- 
torians. On  reaching  the 
grounds,  a  consultation 
was  held,  and  it  was  decided,  in  accordance  with  the  general 
purpose,  if  not  in  strict  conformity  to  the  letter  of  the  order, 
to  push  on  farther  and  fortify  the  eminence  known  as 
Breed's  Hill,  which  was  connected  by  a  ridge  with  Bunker 
Hill,  and  might  be  regarded  as  part  of  the  same  locality. 
Americans  The  position  of  Breed's  Hill  was  admirably  fitted 
Bunker  f or  annoying  the  town  and  the  ships  in  the  harbour, 
HiU  and   it  was  believed  that,  should  the  Americans 

succeed  in  planting  batteries  there,  the  British  would  be 
obliged  to  retire  from  Boston.  There  can  be  little  doubt, 
however,  that  in  thus  departing  from  the  strict  letter  of  his 
orders  Prescott  made  a  mistake,  which  might  have  proved 
fatal,  had  not  the  enemy  blundered  still  more  seriously. 
The  advanced  position  on  Breed's  Hill  was  not  only  exposed 
to  attacks  in  the  rear  from  an  enemy  who  commanded  the 
water,  but  the  line  of  retreat  was  ill  secured,  and,  by  seizing 
upon  Charlestown  Neck,  it  would  have  been  easy  for  the 
British,  with  little  or  no  loss,  to  have  compelled  Prescott  to 
surrender.  From  such  a  disaster  the  Americans  were  saved 
by  the  stupid  contempt  which  the  enemy  felt  for  them. 
Reaching  Breed's  Hill  about  midnight,  Colonel  Prescott's 


1775  THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS  147 

men  began  throwing  up  intrenchments.  At  daybreak  they 
were  discovered  by  the  sailors  in  the  harbour,  and  a  lively 
cannonade  was  kept  up  through  the  forenoon  by  the  enemy's 
ships  ;  but  it  produced  little  effect,  and  the  strength  of  the 
American  works  increased  visibly  hour  by  hour.  It  was  a 
beautiful  summer  day,  bathed  in  brightest  sunshine,  and 
through  the  clear  dry  air  every  movement  of  the  spadesmen 
on  the  hilltop  and  the  sailors  on  their  decks  could  be  dis- 
tinctly seen  from  a  great  distance.  The  roar  of  the  cannon 
had  called  out  everybody,  far  and  near,  to  see  what  was 
going  on,  and  the  windows  and  housetops  in  Bos-  Arrival  of 
ton  were  crowded  with  anxious  spectators.  Dur-  stakjuid 
ing  the  night  General  Putnam  had  come  upon  the  J£ae?f 
scene,  and  turned  his  attention  to  fortifying  the  1775 
crest  of  Bunker  Hill,  in  order  to  secure  the  line  of  retreat 
across  Charlestown  Neck.  In  the  course  of  the  forenoon 
Colonel  Stark  arrived  with  reinforcements,  which  were 
posted  behind  the  rail  fence  on  the  extreme  left,  to  ward  off 
any  attempt  of  the  British  to  turn  their  flank  by  a  direct 
attack.  At  the  same  time,  Dr.  Warren,  now  chief  executive 
officer  of  Massachusetts,  and  just  appointed  major-general, 
hastened  to  the  battlefield  ;  replying  to  the  prudent  and  affec- 
tionate remonstrance  of  his  friend  Elbridge  Gerry,  "  Dulce 
et  decorum  est  pro  patria  mori."  Arriving  at  the  redoubt, 
he  refused  the  command  expressly  tendered  him,  saying 
that  he  should  be  only  too  glad  to  serve  as  volunteer  aid, 
and  learn  his  first  lesson  under  so  well  tried  a  soldier  as 
Prescott.  This  modest  heroism  was  typical  of  that  memo- 
rable day,  to  the  events  of  which  one  may  well  apply  the 
Frenchman's  dictum,  "C'est  magnifique,  mais  ce  n'est  pas 
la  guerre  I "  A  glorious  day  it  was  in  history,  but  char- 
acterized, on  both  the  British  and  the  American  sides,  by 
heroism  rather  than  by  military  skill  or  prudence. 

During  the  forenoon  Gage  was  earnestly  discussing  with 
the  three  new  generals  the  best  means  of  ousting  the  Amer- 
icans from  their  position  on  Breed's  Hill.  There  was  one 
sure  and  obvious  method,  —  to  go  around  by  sea  and  take 


1775  THE   CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS  149 

possession  of  Charlestown  Neck,  thereby  cutting  off  the 
Americans  from  the  mainland  and  starving  them  out.  But 
it  was  thought  that  time  was  too  precious  to  admit  of  so  slow 
a  method.  Should  the  Americans  succeed,  in  the  course  of 
the  afternoon,  in  planting  a  battery  of  siege  guns  on  Breed's 
Hill,  the  British  position  in  Boston  would  be  endangered. 
A  direct  assault  was  preferred,  as  likely  to  be  more 
speedily  effective.  It  was  unanimously  agreed  that  tides  to  try 
these  "peasants"  could  not  withstand  the  charge 
of  3,000  veteran  soldiers,  and  it  was  gravely  doubted  if  they 
would  stay  and  fight  at  all.  Gage  accordingly  watched  the 
proceedings,  buoyant  with  hope.  In  a  few  hours  the  dis- 
grace of  Lexington  would  be  wiped  out,  and  this  wicked 
rebellion  would  be  ended.  At  noonday  the  troops  began 
crossing  the  river  in  boats,  and  at  three  o'clock  they  pre- 
pared to  storm  the  intrenchments.  They  advanced  in  two 
parties,  General  Howe  toward  the  rail-fence,  and  General 
Pigot  toward  the  redoubt,  and  the  same  fate  awaited  both. 
The  Americans  reserved  fire  until  the  enemy  had  come 
within  fifty  yards,  when  all  at  once  they  poured  forth  such  a 
deadly  volley  that  the  whole  front  rank  of  the  British  was 
mowed  as  if  by  the  sudden  sweep  of  a  scythe. 
For  a  few  minutes  the  gallant  veterans  held  their  sauit  re- 
ground  and  returned  the  fire ;  but  presently  an  in-  pu  se 
describable  shudder  ran  through  the  line,  and  they  gave  way 
and  retreated  down  the  hillside  in  disorder,  while  the  Amer- 

1  This  sketch  was  made  on  the  spot  for  Lord  Rawdon,  who  was  then 
on  Gage's  staff.  The  spire  in  the  foreground  is  that  of  the  Old  West 
Church,  where  Jonathan  Mayhew  preached ;  it  stood  on  the  site  since 
occupied  by  Dr.  Bartol's  church  on  Cambridge  Street,  now  a  branch 
of  the  Boston  Public  Library.  Its  position  in  the  picture  shows  that 
the  sketcher  stood  on  Beacon  Hill,  138  feet  above  the  water.  The 
first  hill  to  the  right  of  the  spire,  on  the  further  side  of  the  river,  is 
Bunker  Hill,  no  feet  high.  The  summit  of  Breed's  Hill,  62  feet  high, 
where  Prescott's  redoubt  stood,  is  nearly  hidden  by  the  flames  of 
burning  Charlestown.  At  a  sale  of  the  effects  of  the  Marquis  of 
Hastings,  descendant  of  Lord  Rawdon,  this  sketch  was  bought  by  my 
friend  Dr.  Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 


150  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  hi 

icans  raised  an  exultant  shout,  and  were  with  difficulty  re- 
strained by  their  officers  from  leaping  over  the  breastworks 
and  pursuing. 

A  pause  now  ensued,  during  which  the  village  of  Charles- 
town  was  set  on  fire  by  shells  from  the  fleet,  and  soon  its 
four  hundred  wooden  houses  were  in  a  roaring  blaze,  while 
charred  timbers  strewed  the  lawns  and  flower-beds,  and  the 
sky  was  blackened  with  huge  clouds  of  smoke.  If  the  pur- 
pose of  this  wholesale  destruction  of  property  was,  as  some 
have  thought,  to  screen  the  second  British  advance, 
assault  the  object  was  not  attained,  for  a  light  breeze  drove 
repuse  ^  smoke  the  wrong  way.  As  the  bright  red 
coats,  such  excellent  targets  for  trained  marksmen,  were 
seen  the  second  time  coming  up  the  slope,  the  Americans, 
now  cool  and  confident,  withheld  their  fire  until  the  distance 
was  less  than  thirty  yards.  Then,  with  a  quick  succession 
of  murderous  discharges,  such  havoc  was  wrought  in  the 
British  lines  as  soon  to  prove  unendurable.  After  a  short 
but  obstinate  struggle  the  lines  were  broken,  and  the  gal- 
lant troops  retreated  hastily,  leaving  the  hillside  covered 
with  their  dead  and  wounded.  All  this  time  the  Americans, 
in  their  sheltered  position,  had  suffered  but  little. 

So  long  a  time  now  elapsed  that  many  persons  began  to 
doubt  if  the  British  would  renew  the  assault.  Had  the 
organization  of  the  American  army  been  better,  such  rein- 
forcements of  men  and  ammunition  might  by  this  time  have 
arrived  from  Cambridge  that  any  further  attack  upon  the 
hill  would  be  sure  to  prove  fruitless.  But  all  was  confusion 
at  headquarters.  General  Ward  was  ill  furnished  with  staff 
officers,  and  wrong  information  was  brought,  while  orders 
were  misunderstood.  And  besides,  in  his  ignorance  of  the 
extent  of  Gage's  plans,  General  Ward  was  nervously  afraid 
of  weakening  his  centre  at  Cambridge.  Three  regiments 
were  sent  over  too  late  to  be  of  any  use,  and  mean- 

Prescott  s 

powder  while  Prescott,  to  his  dismay,  found  that  his  stock 
gives  out  Q£  powder  was  nearly  exhausted.  While  he  was 
making  ready  for  a  hand-to-hand  fight,  the  British  officers 


MILE    =     3?'2  INCHES. 


BATTLE  OF  BUNKER  HILL 

June  i7,  1775 


1775  THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS  151 

were  holding  a  council  of  war,  and  many  declared  that  to 
renew  the  attack  would  be  simply  useless  butchery.  On 
the  other  hand,  General  Howe  observed,  "to  be  forced  to 
give  up  Boston  would  be  very  disagreeable  to  us  all."  The 
case  was  not  so  desperate  as  this,  for  the  alternative  of  an 
attack  upon  Charlestown  Neck  still  remained  open,  and  every 
consideration  of  sound  generalship  now  prescribed  that  it 
should  be  tried.  But  Howe  could  not  bear  to  acknowledge 
the  defeat  of  his  attempts  to  storm,  and  accord-  Third  as- 
ingly,  at  five  o'clock,  with  genuine  British  per-  SedsM&e 
sistency,  a  third  attack  was  ordered.  For  a  mo-  ^ethe 
ment  the  advancing  columns  were  again  shaken  wn 
by  the  American  fire,  but  the  last  powder-horns  were  soon 
emptied,  and  by  dint  of  bayonet  charges  the  Americans  were 
slowly  driven  from  their  works  and  forced  to  retreat  over 
Charlestown  Neck,  while  the  whole  disputed  ground,  includ- 
ing the  summit  of  Bunker  Hill,  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
British. 

In  this  battle,  in  which  not  more  than  one  hour  was  spent 
in  actual  fighting,  the  British  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  was 
1,054,  or  more  than  one  third  of  the  whole  force  engaged, 
including  an  unusually  large  proportion  of  officers.  The 
American  loss,  mainly  incurred  at  the  rail-fence 
and  during  the  final  hand-to-hand  struggle  at  the  American 
redoubt,  was  449,  probably  about  one  fourth  of  the  losses 
whole  force  engaged.  On  the  British  side,  one  company 
of  grenadiers  came  out  of  the  battle  with  only  five  of  its 
number  left  unhurt.  Every  officer  on  General  Howe's  staff 
was  cut  down,  and  only  one  survived  his  wounds.  The 
gallant  Pitcairn,  who  had  fired  the  first  shot  of  the  war,  fell 
while  entering  the  redoubt,  and  a  few  moments  later  the 
Americans  met  with  an  irreparable  loss  in  the  death  of 
General  Warren,  who  was  shot  in  the  forehead  as  he  lin- 
gered with  rash  obstinacy  on  the  scene,  loath  to  join  in  the 
inevitable  retreat.  Another  volunteer  aid,  not  less  illustri- 
ous than  Warren,  fought  on  Bunker  Hill  that  day,  and  came 
away  scatheless.     Since  the  brutal   beating  which  he  had 


!52 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  Ill 


received  at  the  coffee-house  nearly  six  years  before,  the 
powerful  mind  of  James  Otis  had  suffered  well-nigh  total 
wreck.  He  was  living,  harmlessly  insane,  at  the  house  of 
his  sister,  Mercy  Warren,  at  Watertown,  when  he  witnessed 
the  excitement  and  listened  to  the  rumour  of  battle  on  the 


It  WZ 


ftiL 


morning  of  the  17th  of  June.  With  touching  eagerness  to 
strike  a  blow  for  the  cause  in  which  he  had  already  suffered 
so  dreadful  a  martyrdom,  Otis  stole  away  from  home,  bor- 
rowed a  musket  at  some  roadside  farmhouse,  and  hastened 
to  the  battlefield,  where  he  fought  manfully,  and  after  all 
was  over  made  his  way  home,  weary  and  faint,  a  little  before 
midnight. 

Though  small  in  its  dimensions,  if  compared  with  great 


1775  THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS  153 

European  battles,  or  with  the  giant  contests  of  our  own  civil 
war,  the  struggle  at  Bunker  Hill  is  memorable  and  . 

instructive,  even  from  a  purely  military  point  of  slaughter; 
view.  Considering  the  numbers  engaged  and  the  Jfth© 
short  duration  of  the  fight,  the  destruction  of  life  battle 
was  enormous.  Of  all  the  hardest-fought  fields  of  modern 
times,  there  have  been  very  few  indeed  in  which  the  num- 
ber of  killed  and  wounded  has  exceeded  one  fourth  of  the 
whole  force  engaged.  In  its  bloodiness  and  in  the  physical 
conditions  of  the  struggle,  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  resem- 
bles in  miniature  the  tremendous  battles  of  Fredericksburg 
and  Cold  Harbor.  To  ascend  a  rising  ground  and  storm 
well-manned  intrenchments  has  in  all  ages  been  a  difficult 
task ;  at  the  present  day,  with  the  range  and  precision  of 
our  modern  weapons,  it  has  come  to  be  almost  impossible. 
It  has  become  a  maxim  of  modern  warfare  that  only  the 
most  extraordinary  necessity  can  justify  a  commander  in 
resorting  to  so  desperate  a  measure.  He  must  manoeuvre 
against  such  positions,  cut  them  off  by  the  rear,  or  deprive 
them  of  their  value  by  some  flanking  march ;  but  he  must 
not,  save  as  a  forlorn  hope,  waste  precious  human  lives  in 
an  effort  to  storm  them  that  is  almost  sure  to  prove  fruit- 
less. For  our  means  of  destroying  life  have  become  so 
powerful  and  so  accurate  that,  when  skilfully  wielded  from 
commanding  positions,  no  human  gallantry  can  hope  to 
withstand  them.  As  civilization  advances,  warfare  becomes 
less  and  less  a  question  of  mere  personal  bravery,  and  more 
and  more  a  question  of  the  application  of  resistless  physical 
forces  at  the  proper  points ;  that  is  to  say,  it  becomes  more 
and  more  a  purely  scientific  problem  of  dynamics.  Now  at 
Bunker  Hill  though  the  Americans  had  not  our  modern 
weapons  of  precision,  yet  a  similar  effect  was  wrought  by 
the  remarkable  accuracy  of  their  aim,  due  to  the  fact  that 
they  were  all  trained  marksmen,  who  waited  coolly  till  they 
could  fire  at  short  range,  and  then  wasted  no  shots  in  ran- 
dom firing.  Most  of  the  British  soldiers  who  fell  in  the  two 
disastrous  charges  of  that  day  were  doubtless  picked  off  as 


154  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  hi 

partridges  are  picked  off  by  old  sportsmen,  and  thus  is 
explained  the  unprecedented  slaughter  of. officers.  Probably 
nothing  quite  like  this  had  yet  been  seen  in  the  history  of 
war,  though  the  principle  had  been  similar  in  those  wonder- 
ful trials  of  the  long-bow  in  such  mediaeval  battles  as  Crecy 
and  Dupplin  Moor.  Against  such  odds  even  British  pluck 
and  endurance  could  not  prevail.  Had  the  Americans  been 
properly  supplied  with  powder,  Howe  could  no  more  have 
taken  Bunker  Hill  by  storm  than  Burnside  could  take  the 
heights  of  Fredericksburg. 

The  moral  effect  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  both  in 
America  and  Europe,  was  remarkable.  It  was  for  the  Brit- 
ish an  important  victory,  inasmuch  as  they  not  only  gained 
the  ground  for  which  the  battle  was  fought,  but  by  so  doing 
its  moral  they  succeeded  in  keeping  their  hold  upon  Boston 
effect  £or  n-ne  mont-ns  longer.     Nevertheless,  the  moral 

advantage  was  felt  to  be  quite  on  the  side  of  the  Americans. 
It  was  they  who  were  elated  by  the  day's  work,  while  it  was 
the  British  who  were  dispirited.  The  belief  that  Americans 
could  not  fight  was  that  day  dispelled  forever.  British  offi- 
cers who  remembered  Fontenoy  and  Minden  declared  that 
the  firing  at  Bunker  Hill  was  the  hottest  they  had  ever 
known,  and,  with  an  exaggeration  which  was  pardonable  as 
a  reaction  from  their  former  ill-judged  contempt,  it  was  as- 
serted that  the  regulars  of  France  were  less  formidable  foes 
than  the  militia  of  New  England.  It  was  keenly  felt  that 
if  a  conquest  of  a  single  strategic  position  had  encountered 
such  stubborn  resistance,  the  task  of  subjugating  the  United 
Colonies  was  likely  to  prove  a  hard  one.  "  I  wish  we  could 
sell  them  another  hill  at  the  same  price,"  said  General 
Greene.  Vergennes,  the  French  minister  of  foreign  affairs, 
exclaimed  that  with  two  more  such  victories  England  would 
have  no  army  left  in  America.  Washington  said  there 
could  now  be  no  doubt  that  the  liberties  of  the  people  were 
secure.  While  Franklin,  taking  extreme  ground,  declared 
that  England  had  lost  her  colonies  forever. 


,.. 


CHAPTER   IV 


INDEPENDENCE 


On  the  2d  of  July,  1775,  after  a  journey  of  eleven  days, 
General  Washington  arrived  in  Cambridge  from  Philadel- 
phia, and  on  the  following  day,  under  the  shade  of  the 
great  elm-tree  which  still  stands  hard  by  the  Com-  washing- 
mon,  he  took  command  of  the  Continental  army,  innc4m-V6S 
which  as  yet  was  composed  entirely  of  New  Eng-  bridse 
landers.  Of  the  16,000  men  engaged  in  the  siege  of  Boston, 
Massachusetts  furnished  11,500,  Connecticut  2,300,  New 
Hampshire  1,200,  Rhode  Island  1,000.  These  contingents 
were  arrayed  under  their  local  commanders,  and  under  the 
local  flags  of  their  respective  commonwealths,  though  Arte- 
mas  Ward  of  Massachusetts  had  by  courtesy  exercised  the 
chief   command  until  the  arrival  of  Washington.     During 


156  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 

the  month  of  July,  Congress  gave  a  more  continental  com- 
plexion to  the  army  by  sending  a  reinforcement  of  3,000 
men  from  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia,  including 
the  famous  Daniel  Morgan,  with  his  sturdy  band  of  sharp- 
shooters each  man  of  whom,  it  was  said,  while  marching  at 
double-quick,  could  cleave  with  his  rifle-ball  a  squirrel  at  a 
distance  of  three  hundred  yards.  The  summer  of  1775 
thus  brought  together  in  Cambridge  many  officers  whose 
names  were  soon  to  become  household  words  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  and  a  moment  may  be 
fitly  spent  in  introducing  them  before  we  proceed  with  the 
narrative  of  events. 

Daniel  Morgan,  who  had  just  arrived  from  Virginia  with 
his  riflemen,  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  of  Welsh  descent. 
Daniel  Moving  to  Virginia  at  an  early  age,  he  had  won  a 
Morgan  great  reputation  for  bravery  and  readiness  of  re- 
source in  the  wild  campaigns  of  the  Seven  Years'  War.  He 
was  a  man  of  gigantic  stature  and  strength,  and  incredible 
powers  of  endurance.  In  his  youth,  it  is  said,  he  had  re- 
ceived five  hundred  lashes  by  order  of  a  tyrannical  British 
officer,  and  had  come  away  alive  and  defiant.  On  another 
occasion,  in  a  fierce  woodland  fight  with  the  Indians,  in 
which  nearly  all  his  comrades  were  slain,  Morgan  was  shot 
through  the  neck  by  a  musket-ball.  Almost  fainting  from 
the  wound,  which  he  believed  to  be  fatal,  Morgan  was 
resolved,  nevertheless,  not  to  leave  his  scalp  in  the  hands  of 
a  dirty  Indian ;  and  falling  forward,  with  his  arms  tightly 
clasped  about  the  neck  of  his  stalwart  horse,  though  mists 
were,  gathering  before  his  eyes,  he  spurred  away  through 
the  forest  paths,  until  his  foremost  Indian  pursuer,  unable 
to  come  up  with  him,  hurled  his  tomahawk  after  him  with 
a  yell  of  baffled  rage,  and  gave  up  the  chase.  With  this 
unconquerable  tenacity,  Morgan  was  a  man  of  gentle  and 
unselfish  nature ;  a  genuine  diamond,  though  a  rough  one ; 
uneducated,  but  clear  and  strong  in  intelligence  and  faithful 
in  every  fibre.  At  Cambridge  began  his  long  comradeship 
with  a  very  different  character,  Benedict  Arnold,  a  young 


£U~^z^& 


i775  INDEPENDENCE  157 

man  of  romantic  and  generous  impulses,  and  for  personal 
bravery  unsurpassed,  but  vain  and  self-seeking,  and  lacking 
in  moral  robustness  ;  in  some  respects  a  more  pol-  Benedict 
ished  man  than  Morgan,  but  of  a  nature  at  once  Arnold 
coarser  and  weaker.  We  shall  see  these  two  men  associated 
in  some  of  the  most  brilliant  achievements  of  the  war ;  and 
we  shall  see  them  persecuted  and 
insulted  by  political  enemies,  un- 
til the  weaker  nature  sinks  and  is 
ruined,  while  the  stronger  endures 
to  the  end. 

Along  with  Morgan  and  Ar- 
nold there  might  have  been  seen 
on  Cambridge  Common  a  man 
who  was  destined  to  play  no  less 
conspicuous  a  part  in  the  great 
campaign  which  was  to  end  in 
the  first  decisive  overthrow  of 
the  British.  For  native  shrewd- 
ness, rough  simplicity,  and  daunt- 
less courage,  John  Stark  was 
much  like  Morgan.  What  the 
one  name  was  in  the  great  woods 
of  the  Virginia  frontier,  that  was 
the  other  among  the  rugged  hills 

,  SILHOUETTE   OF  JOHN   STARK 

of   northern   New  England,  —  a 

symbol  of  patriotism  and  a  guarantee  of  victory.  Great  as 
was  Stark's  personal  following  in  New  Hampshire,  he  had 
not,  however,  the  chief  command  of  the  troops  of  that  colony. 
The  commander  of  the  New  Hampshire  contingent  was 
John  Sullivan,  a  wealthy  lawyer  of  Durham,  who  had  sat  in 
the  first  Continental  Congress.  Sullivan  was  a  gentleman 
of  culture  and  fair  ability  as  a  statesman.  As  j0hn 
a  general,  he  was  brave,  intelligent,  and  faithful,  Sulhvan 
but  in  no  wise  brilliant.  Closely  associated  with  Sullivan 
for  the  next  three  years  we  shall  find  Nathanael  Greene,  now 
in  command  of  the  Rhode  Island  contingent.     For  intellec- 


i58 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  IV 


tual  calibre  all  the  other  officers  here  mentioned  are  dwarfed 
in  comparison  with  Greene,  who  comes  out  at  the  end  of 
the  war  with  a  military  reputation  scarcely,  if  at  all,  infe- 
Nathanaei  rior  to  that  of  Washington.  Nor  was  Greene  less 
Greene  notable  for  the  sweetness  and  purity  of  his  charac- 
ter than  for  the  scope  of  his  intelligence.  From  lowly  be- 
ginnings he  had  come  to  be,  though  still  a  young  ^an,  the 


NATHANAEL    GREENE 


most  admired  and  respected  citizen  of  Rhode  Island.  He 
had  begun  life  as  a  blacksmith,  but,  inspired  by  an  intense 
thirst  for  knowledge,  he  had  soon  become  a  learned  black- 
smith, well  versed  in  history,  philosophy,  and  general  litera- 
ture. He  had  that  rare  genius  which  readily  assimilates  all 
kinds  of  knowledge  through  an  inborn  correctness  of  method. 
Whatever  he  touched,  it  was  with  a  master  hand,  and  his 
weight  of  sense  soon  won  general  recognition.  Such  a 
Henry  man  was  not  unnaturally  an  eager  book-buyer,  and 
in  this  way  he  had  some  time  ago  been  brought 
into  pleasant  relations  with  the  genial  and  intelligent  Henry 


1775 


INDEPENDENCE 


59 


Knox,  who  from  his  bookshop  in  Boston  had  come  to  join 
the  army  as  a  colonel  of  artillery,  and  soon  became  one  of 
Washington's  most  trusty  followers. 

Of  this  group  of  officers,  none  have  as  yet  reached  very 


m^h-vy^ 


high  rank  in  the  Continental  army.     Sullivan  and  Greene 
stand  at  the  end  of  the  list  of  brigadier-generals ;   older 
the  rest  are  colonels.     The  senior  major-general,   officers 
Artemas  Ward,  and  the  senior  brigadiers,  Pomeroy  Heath, 
Thomas,  Wooster,  and  Spencer,  will  presently  pass  into  the 
background,    to   make   way  for  these  younger   or   Israel 
more  vigorous  men.     Major-General  Israel  Putnam,    Putnam 
the   picturesque  wolf-slayer,    a   brave  and  sterling  patriot, 


160  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 

but  of  slender  military  capacity,  will  remain  in  the  fore- 
ground for  another  year,  and  will  then  become  relegated 
mainly  to  garrison  duty. 

With  the  exception  of  Morgan,  all  the  officers  here  noticed 
are  New  England  men,  as  is  natural,  since  the  seat  of  war  is 
in  Massachusetts,  and  an  army  really  continental  in  com- 
plexion is  still  to  be  formed.  The  Southern  colonies  have 
as  yet  contributed  only  Morgan  and  the  commander-in-chief. 
New  York  is  represented  in  the  Continental  army  by  two 
of  the  noblest  of  American  heroes, —  Major-General  Philip 
Schuyler  and  Brigadier-General  Richard  Montgomery  ;  but 
these  able  men  are  now  watching  over  Ticonderoga  and  the 
Indian  frontier  of  New  York.  But  among  the  group  which 
in  1775  met  for  consultation  on  Cambridge  Common,  or  in 
Horatio  the  noble  Tory  mansion  now  hallowed  alike  by 
Chariesnd  memories  of  Washington  and  of  Longfellow,  there 
Lee  were  yet  two  other  generals,  closely  associated  with 

each  other  for  a  time  in  ephemeral  reputation  won  by  false 
pretences,  and  afterwards  in  lasting  ignominy.  It  is  with 
pleasure  that  one  recalls  the  fact  that  these  men  were  not 
Americans,  though  both  possessed  estates  in  Virginia ;  it 
is  with  regret  that  one  is  forced  to  own  them  as  English- 
men. Of  Horatio  Gates  and  his  career  of  imbecility  and 
intrigue,  we  shall  by  and  by  see  more  than  enough.  At 
this  time  he  was  present  in  Cambridge  as  adjutant-general 
of  the  army.  But  his  friend,  Charles  Lee,  was  for  the 
moment  a  far  more  conspicuous  personage  ;  and  this  eccen- 
tric creature,  whose  career  was  for  a  long  time  one  of  the 
difficult  problems  in  American  history,  needs  something 
more  than  a  passing  word  of  introduction. 

Although  Major-General  Charles  Lee  happened  to  have 

acquired  an  estate  in  Virginia,  he  had  nothing  in  common 

with  the  illustrious  family  of   Virginian  Lees  beyond  the 

accidental  identity  of  name.     He  was  born  in  Eng- 

t  pp'g  per* 

sonaipecul-   land,  and  had  risen  in  the  British  army  to  the  rank 

of  lieutenant-colonel.     He  had  served  in  America 

in  the  Seven  Years'  War,  and  afterward,  as  a  soldier  of  for- 


*775 


INDEPENDENCE 


:6i 


WASHINGTON'S    HEADQUARTERS 


tune,  he  had  wandered  about  Europe,  obtaining  at  one  time  a 
place  on  the  staff  of  the  king  of  Poland.  A  restless  adven- 
turer, he  had  come  over  again  to  America  as  soon  as  he  saw- 
that  a  war  was  brewing  here.  There  is  nothing  to  show 
that  he  cared  a  rush  for  the  Americans,  or  for  the  cause  in 
which  they  were  fighting,  but  he  sought  the  opportunity  of 
making  a  name  for  himself.  He  was  received  with  enthu- 
siasm by  the  Americans.  His  loud,  pompous  manner  and 
enormous  self-confidence  at  first  imposed  upon  everybody. 
He  was  tall,  lank,  and  hollow-cheeked,  with  a  discontented 
expression  of  face.  In  dress  he  was  extremely  slovenly. 
He  was  fond  of  dogs,  and  always  had  three  or  four  at  his 
heels,  but  toward  men  and  women  his  demeanour  was 
morose  and  insulting.  He  had  a  sharp,  cynical  wit,  and 
was  always  making  severe  remarks  in  a  harsh,  rough  voice. 
But  the  trustful  American  imagination  endowed  this  un- 
pleasant person  with  the  qualities  of  a  great  soldier..  His 
reputation  was  part  of  the  unconscious  tribute  which  the 


l62 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  IV 


provincial  mind  of  our  countrymen  was  long  wont  to  pay  to 
the  men  and  things  of  Europe  ;  and  for  some  time  his  worst 
actions  found  a  lenient  interpretation  as  the  mere  eccen- 
tricities of  a  wayward  genius.  He  had  hoped  to  be  made 
commander-in-chief  of  the  army,  and  had  already  begun  to 
nourish  a  bitter  grudge  against  Washington,  by  whom  he 


Z^4f^/  J£*^~ 


regarded  himself  as  supplanted.  In  the  following  year  we 
shall  see  him  endeavouring  to  thwart  the  plans  of  Washing- 
ton at  the  most  critical  moment  of  the  war,  but  for  the 
present  he  showed  no  signs  of  insincerity,  except  perhaps  in 
an  undue  readiness  to  parley  with  the  British  commanders. 
As  soon  as  it  became  clear  that  a  war  was  beginning,  the 
hope  of  winning  glory  by  effecting  an  accommodation  with 
the  enemy  offered  a  dangerous  temptation  to  men  of  weak 
virtue  in  eminent  positions.  In  October,  1775,  the  Ameri- 
can camp  was  thrown  into  great  consternation  by  the  discov- 


i775  INDEPENDENCE  163 

ery  that  Dr.  Benjamin  Church,  one  of  the  most  conspicu- 
ous of  the  Boston  leaders,  had  engaged  in  a  secret   Benjamin 
correspondence    with    the    enemy.       Dr.    Church   Church 
was  thrown  into  jail,  but  as  the  evidence  of  treasonable 
intent  was  not  absolutely  complete,  he  was  set  free  in  the 

following  spring,   and  al- 

y&  /?       ~  rf    ^     lowed  to  visit   the  West 

^^^^/u^^tAc^.        Indies  for  his  health.    The 

V        l^s  ship   in   which   he   sailed 

was  never  heard  from 
again.  This  kind  of  temptation,  to  which  Church  succumbed 
at  the  first  outbreak  of  the  war,  beset  Lee  with  fatal  effect 
after  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  wrought  the 
ruin  of  Arnold  after  the  conclusion  of  the  French  alliance. 

To  such  a  man  as  Charles  Lee,  destitute  of  faith  in  the 
loftier  human  virtues  or  in  the  strength  of  political  ideas,  it 
might  easily  have  seemed  that  more  was  to  be  hoped  from 
negotiation  than  from  an  attempt  to  resist  Great  Britain 
with  such  an  army  as  that  of  which  he  now  came  to  com- 
mand the  left  wing.  It  was  fortunate  that  the  British  gen- 
erals were  ignorant  of  the  real  state  of  things.  Among  the 
moral  effects  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  there  was  one 
which  proved  for  the  moment  to  be  of  inestimable  value. 
It  impressed  upon  General  Howe,  who  now  succeeded  to 
the  chief  command,  the  feeling  that  the  Americans  were 
more  formidable  than  had  been  supposed,  and  that  much 
care  and  forethought  would  be  required  for  a  successful 
attack  upon  them.  In  a  man  of  his  easy-going  disposition, 
such  a  feeling  was  enough  to  prevent  decisive  action.  It 
served  to  keep  the  British  force  idle  in  Boston  for  months, 
and  was  thus  of  great  service  to  the  American  cause.  For 
in  spite  of  the  zeal  and  valour  it  had  shown,  this  army  of 
New  England  minute-men  was  by  no  means  in  a  fit  condi- 
tion for  carrying  on  such  an  arduous  enterprise  as  the  siege 
of  Boston.  When  Washington  took  command  of  the  army 
on  Cambridge  Common,  he  found  that  the  first  and  most 
trying  task  before  him  was  out  of  this  excellent  but  very 


164  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 

raw  material  to  create  an  army  upon  which  he  could  depend. 
The  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  had  just  been  lost,  under  circum- 
stances which  were  calculated  to  cheer  the  Americans  and 
Difficult  make  them  hopeful  of  the  future  ;  but  it  would 
Washing-  not  ^°  to  rls^  anotner  battle,  with  an  untrained 
ton  staff  and  a  scant  supply  of  powder.     All  the  work 

of  organizing  an  army  was  still  to  be  done,  and  the  circum- 
stances were  not  such  as  to  make  it  an  easy  work.  It  was 
not  merely  that  the  men,  who  were  much  better  trained  in 
the  discipline  of  the  town  meeting  than  in  that  of  the  camp, 
needed  to  be  taught  the  all-important  lesson  of  military  sub- 
ordination :  it  was  at  first  a  serious  question  how  they  were 
to  be  kept  together  at  all.  That  the  enthusiasm  kindled  on 
the  day  of  Lexington  should  have  sufficed  to  bring  together 
16,000  men,  and  to  keep  them  for  three  months  at  their 
posts,  was  already  remarkable  ;  but  no  army,  however  patri- 
otic and  self-sacrificing,  can  be  supported  on  enthusiasm 
alone.  The  army  of  which  Washington  took  command  was 
a  motley  crowd,  clad  in  every  variety  of  rustic  attire,  armed 
with  trusty  muskets  and  rifles,  as  their  recent  exploit  had 
shown,  but  destitute  of  almost  everything  else  that  belongs 
to  a  soldier's  outfit.  From  the  Common  down  to  the  river, 
their  rude  tents  were  dotted  about  here  and  there,  some 
made  of  sail-cloth  stretched  over  poles,  some  piled  up  of 
stones  and  turf,  some  oddly  wrought  of  twisted  green 
boughs  ;  while  the  more  fortunate  ones  found  comparatively 
luxurious  quarters  in  Massachusetts  Hall,  or  in  the  little 
Episcopal  church,  or  in  the  houses  of  patriotic  citizens. 
These  volunteers  had  enlisted  for  various  periods,  for  the 
most  part  short,  under  various  contracts  with  various  town 
or  provincial  governments.  It  was  not  altogether  clear  how 
they  were  going  to  be  paid,  nor  was  it  easy  to  see  how  they 
were  going  to  be  fed.  That  this  army  should  have  been 
already  subsisted  for  three  months,  without  any  commissa- 
riat, was  in  itself  an  extraordinary  fact.  Day  by  day  the 
heavy  carts  had  rumbled  into  Cambridge,  bringing  from  the 
highlands  of  Berkshire  and  Worcester,  and  from  the  Mer- 


775 


INDEPENDENCE 


165 


rimac  and  Connecticut  valleys,  whatever  could  in  any  wise 
be  spared  of  food,  or  clothing,  or  medicines,  for  the  patriot 
army;  and  the  pleasant  fields  of  Cambridge  were  a  busy 
scene  of  kindness  and  sympathy. 

Such  means  as  these,  however,  could  not  long  be  efficient. 
If  war  was  to  be  successfully  conducted,  there  must  be  a 
commissariat,  there  must  be  ammunition,  and  there  must  be 
money.  And  here  Washington  found  himself  confronted 
with  the  difficulty  which  never  ceased  to  vex  his  noble  soul 
and  disturb  his  best  laid  schemes  until  the  day  when  he 
swooped  down  upon  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown.  He  Absence  of 
had  to  keep  making  the  army,  with  which  he  was  mentafor- 
too  often  expected  to  fight  battles  ere  it  was  half  ganization 
made ;  and  in  this  arduous  work  he  could  get  but  little  sys- 
tematic help  from  any  quarter.  At  present  the  difficulty 
was  that  there  was  nowhere  any  organized  government 
competent  to  support  an  army.  On  Washington's  arrival, 
the  force  surrounding  Boston  owed  allegiance,  as  we  have 
seen,  to  four  distinct  commonwealths,  of  which  two,  indeed, 
—  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island,  —  preserving  their  ancient 
charters,  with  governors  elected  by  themselves,  were  still  in 
their  normal  condition.     In  New  Hampshire,  on  the  other 


166  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 

hand,  the  royal  governor,  John  Wentworth,  whose  personal 
popularity  was  deservedly  great,  kept  his  place  until  August, 
while  Stark  and  his  men  had  gone  to  Cambridge  in  spite  of 
him.  In  Massachusetts  the  revolutionary  Provincial  Con- 
gress still  survived,  but  with  uncertain  power;  even  the 
Continental  Congress  which  adopted  the  Cambridge  army 
in  the  name  of  the  United  Colonies  was  simply  an  advisory 
body,  without  the  power  to  raise  taxes  or  to  beat  up  recruits. 
From  this  administrative  chaos,  through  which  all  the  colo- 
nies, save  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island,  were  forced  to  pass 
New  gov-  m  these  trying  times,  Massachusetts  was  the  first 
Ma?anhuf  t0  emerge>  m  July>  1775,  by  reverting  to  the  provi- 
setts,  July,  sions  of  its  old  charter,  and  forming  a  government 
in  which  the  king's  authority  was  virtually  disal- 
lowed. A  representative  assembly  was  chosen  by  the  peo- 
ple in  their  town  meetings,  according  to  time-honoured  pre- 
cedent ;  and  this  new  legislature  itself  elected  an  annual 
council  of  twenty-eight  members,  to  sit  as  an  upper  house. 
James  Bowdoin,  as  president  of  the  council,  became  chief 
executive  officer  of  the  commonwealth,  and  John  Adams 
was  made  chief  justice.  Forty  thousand  pounds  were  raised 
by  a  direct  tax  on  polls  and  on  real  estate,  and  bills  of  credit 
were  issued  for  1,000  more.  The  commonwealth  adopted  a 
new  seal,  and  a  proclamation,  issued  somewhat  later  by 
Chief  Justice  Adams,  enjoining  it  upon  all  people  to  give 
loyal  obedience  to  the  new  government,  closed  with  the 
significant  invocation  "  God  save  the  people,"  instead  of  the 
customary  "  God  save  the  king.'' 

In  taking  this  decisive  step,  Massachusetts  was  simply  the 
first  to  act  upon  the  general  recommendation  of  the  Conti- 
nental Congress,  that  the  several  colonies  should  forthwith 
proceed  to  frame  governments  for  themselves,  based  upon 
the  suffrages  of  the  people.  From  such  a  recommendation 
as  this  to  a  formal  declaration  of  independence,  the  distance 
to  be  traversed  was  not  great.  Samuel  Adams  urged  that 
in  declaring  the  colonies  independent  Congress  would  be 
simply  recognizing  a  fact  which  in  reality  already  existed, 


I775  INDEPENDENCE  167 

and  that  by  thus  looking  facts  squarely  in  the  face  the  in- 
evitable war  might  be  conducted  with  far  greater  efficiency. 
But  he  was  earnestly  and  ably  opposed  by  John  Dickinson 
of  Pennsylvania,  whose  arguments  for  the  present  prevailed 
in  the  Congress.  It  was  felt  that  the  Congress,  as  a  mere 
advisory  body,  had  no  right  to  take  a  step  of  such  supreme 
importance  without  first  receiving  explicit  instructions  from 
every  one  of  the  colonies.  Besides  this,  the  thought  of 
separation  was  still  a  painful  thought  to  most  of  the  dele- 
gates, and  it  was  deemed  well  worth  while  to  try  the  effect 
of  one  more  candid  statement  of  grievances,  to  be  set  forth 
in  a  petition  to  his  majesty.  For  like  reasons,  the  Congress 
did  not  venture  to  take  measures  to  increase  its  congress 
own  authority;  and  when  Franklin,  still  thinking  petition  to 
of  union  as  he  had  been  thinking  for  more  than  the  kins 
twenty  years,  now  brought  forward  a  new  scheme,  somewhat 
similar  to  the  Articles  of  Confederation  afterwards  adopted, 
it  was  set  aside  as  premature.  The  king  was  known  to  be 
fiercely  opposed  to  any  dealings  with  the  colonies  as  a  united 
body,  and  so  considerate  of  his  feelings  were  these  honest 
and  peace-loving  delegates  that,  after  much  discussion,  they 
signed  their  carefully  worded  petition  severally,  and  not 
jointly.  They  signed  it  as  individuals  speaking  for  the  peo- 
ple of  the  American  colonies,  not  as  members  of  an  organic 
body  representing  the  American  people.  To  emphasize  still 
further  their  conciliatory  mood,  the  delivery  of  the  petition 
was  entrusted  to  Richard  Penn,  a  descendant  of  the  great 
Quaker  and  joint-proprietary  in  the  government  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, an  excellent  man  and  an  ardent  loyalist.  At  the 
same  time  that  this  was  done,  an  issue  of  paper  money  was 
made,  to  be  severally  guaranteed  by  the  thirteen  colonies, 
and  half  a  million  dollars  were  sent  to  Cambridge  to  be  used 
for  the  army. 

Military  operations,  however,  came  for  the  time  to  a  stand- 
still. While  Washington's  energies  were  fully  occupied  in 
organizing  and  drilling  his  troops,  in  providing  them  with 
powder  and  ball,  in  raising  lines  of  fortification,  in  making 


168  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 

good  the  troublesome  vacancies  due  to  short  terms  of  enlist- 
ment, and  above  all  in  presenting  unfailingly  a  bold  front  to 
the  enemy  ;  while  the  encampments  about  Boston  were  the 
daily  scene  of  tedious  works,  without  any  immediate  pros- 
pect of  brilliant  achievement,  the  Congress  and  the  people 
were  patiently  waiting  to  hear  the  result  of  the  last  petition 
that  was  ever  to  be  sent  from  these  colonies  to  the  king  of 
Great  Britain. 

Penn  made  all  possible  haste,  and  arrived  in  London  on 
the  14th  of  August ;  but  when  he  got  there  the  king  would 
neither  see  him  nor  receive  the  petition  in  any  way,  directly 
or  indirectly.  The  Congress  was  an  illegal  assembly  which 
had  no  business  to  send  letters  to  him :  if  any  one  of  the 
colonies  wanted  to  make  terms  for  itself  separately,  he  might 
be  willing  to  listen  to  it.  But  this  idea  of  a  united  America 
was  something  unknown  either  to  law  or  to  reason,  some- 
thing that  could  not  be  too  summarily  frowned  down.  So 
The  king  while  Penn  waited  about  London,  the  king  issued 
issues  a        a  proclamation ;    setting  forth   that   many  of   his 

proclama-  x  .  °  #  J 

tion,  and  subj  ects  in  the  colonies  were  in  open  and  armed 
troops  from  rebellion,  and  calling  upon  all  loyal  subjects  of  the 
Russia  realm  to  assist  in  bringing  to  condign  punishment 
the  authors  and  abettors  of  this  foul  treason.  Having 
launched  this  thunderbolt,  George  sent  at  once  to  Russia  to 
see  if  he  could  hire  20,000  men  to  aid  in  giving  it  effect,  for 
the  " loyal  subjects  of  the  realm"  were  slow  in  coming  for- 
ward. A  war  against  the  Americans  was  not  yet  popular 
in  England.  Lord  Chatham  withdrew  his  eldest  son,  Lord 
Pitt,  from  the  army,  lest  he  should  be  called  upon  to  serve 
against  the  men  who  were  defending  the  common  liberties 
of  Englishmen.  There  was,  moreover,  in  England  as  well 
as  in  America,  a  distrust  of  regular  armies.  Recruiting  was 
difficult,  and  conscription  was  something  that  the  people 
would  not  endure  unless  England  should  actually  be  threat- 
ened with  invasion.  The  king  had  already  been  obliged  to 
raise  a  force  of  his  Hanoverian  subjects  to  garrison  Minorca 
and   Gibraltar,  thus  setting   free  the  British  defenders  of 


By    the     KING, 

A     PROCLAMATION. 

For  fuppreffing  Rebellion  and  Sedition* 

GEORGE    R» 

WHEREAS  many  of  Our  Subjects  in  divers  Parts  of  Our  Colonics  and  Plantation* 
'  in  North  America,  milled  by  dangerous  and  ill-defigning  Men,  and  forgetting 
the  Allegiance  which  they  owe  to  the  Power  that  has  protected  and  fuftained 
them,  after  various  disorderly  Acts  committed  in  Difturbance  of  the  Publick 
Peace,  to  the  Obftruction  of  lawful  Commerce,  and  to  the  Oppreflion  of  Our 
loyal  Subjects  carrying  on  the  fame,  have  at  length  proceeded  to  an  open  and 
avowed  Rebellion,  by  arraying  thcmfelves  in  hoftile  Manner  to  withftand  the 
Execution  of  the  Law,  and  traitoroufly  preparing,  ordering,  and  lewing  War. 
againft  Us-  And  whereas  there  is  Realon.to  ^prrcAcncf  e&ac  luch  Rebellion  hath 
been  much  promoted  and  encouraged  by  the  traitorous  Correfpondence,  Counfels,  and  Comfort  of 
divers  wicked  and  aclpcrate  Perfons  within  this  Realm :  To  the  End  therefore  that  none  of  Our  Subjects 
may  neglect  or  violate  their  Duty  through  Ignorance  thereof,  or  through  any  Doubt  of  the  Protection 
which  the  Law  will  afford  to  their  Loyalty  and  Zeal  j  Wc  have  thought  fit,  by  and  with  the  Advice  of 
Our  Privy  Council,  to  iffue  this  Our  Royal  Proclamation,  hereby  declaring  that  not  only  all  Our 
Officers  Civil  and  Military  are  obliged  to  exert  their  utmoft  Endeavours  to  fupprefs  fuch  Rebellion,  and  | 
to  bring  the  Traitors  to  Juftice;  but  that  all  Our  Subjects  of  this  Realm  and  the  Dominions  thereunto 
belonging  are  bound  by  Law  to  be  aiding  and  affifting  in  the  Suppreffion  of  fuch  Rebellion,  and  to 
difclofe  and  make  known  all  traitorous  Confpiracics  and  Attempts  againft  Us,  Our  Crown  and  Dignity; 
And  We  do  accordingly  ftrictly  charge  and  command  all  Our  Officers  as  well  Civil  as  Military, 
and  all  other  Our  obedient  and  loyal  Subjects,  to  ufe  their  utmoft  Endeavours  to  withftand  and 
fupprels  fuch  Rebellion,  and  to  difclofe  and  make  known  all  Trcafons  and  traitorous  Confpi- 
racics which  they  fhall  know  to  be  againft  Us,  Our  Crown  and  Dignity ;  and  for  that  Purpofe, 
that  they  tranfmit  to  One  of  Our  Principal  Secretaries  of  State,  or  other  proper  Officer,  due  and 
full  Information  of  all  Perfons  who  (hall  be  found  carrying  on  Correfpondcnce  with,  or  in  any 
Manner  or  Degree  aiding  or  abetting  the  Perfons  now  in  open  Arms  and  Rebellion  againft  Our 
Government  within  any  of  Our  Colonies  and  Plantations  in  North  America,  in  order  to  bring  to 
condign  Punifhment  the  Authors,  Perpetrators,  and  Abettors  of  fuch  traitorous  Defigns. 

Given  at  Our  Court  at  St.  James's,  the  Twenty-third  Day  of  Auguji,   One  thoufand 
feven  hundred  and  feventy-five,  in  the  Fifteenth  Year  of  Our  Reign. 


God   feve    the    King* 


LONDON: 

Printed  by  Cbarla  Eyre  and  William  Straha/t,  Printers  to  the  King's  moft  Excellent  Majefty.     1775. 


THE    KING'S    PROCLAMATION 


170  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 

these  strongholds  for  service  in  America.  He  had  no  further 
resource  except  in  hiring  troops  from  abroad.  But  his  at- 
Catherine  tempt  in  Russia  was  not  successful,  for  the  Empress 
refuses  Catherine,  with  all  her  faults,  was  not  disposed  to 
sell  the  blood  of  her  subjects.  She  improved  the  occasion 
—  as  sovereigns  and  others  will  sometimes  do  —  by  asking 
George,  sarcastically,  if  he  thought  it  quite  compatible  with 
his  dignity  to  employ  foreign  troops  against  his  own  sub- 
jects ;  as  for  Russian  soldiers,  she  had  none  to  spare  for 
such  a  purpose.  Foiled  in  this  quarter,  the  king  applied  to 
the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse-Cassel,  the 
princes  of  Waldeck  and  Anhalt-Zerbst,  the  Margrave  of 
Anspach-Bayreuth,  and  the  Count  of  Hesse-Hanau,  and  suc- 
Th  k*  ceeded  in  making  a  bargain  for  20,000  of  the  finest 
hires  Ger-  infantry  in  Europe,  with  four  good  generals,  — 
oops  Riedesel  of  Brunswick,  and  Knyphausen,  Von 
Heister,  and  Donop  of  Hesse.  The  hiring  of  these  troops 
was  bitterly  condemned  by  Lord  John  Cavendish  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  by  Lords  Camden  and  Shelburne 
and  the  Duke  of  Richmond  in  the  House  of  Lords ;  and 
Chatham's  indignant  invectives  at  a  somewhat  later  date  are 
familiar  to  every  one.  It  is  proper,  however,  that  in  such 
an  affair  as  this  we  should  take  care  to  affix  our  blame  in 
the  right  place.  The  king  might  well  argue  that  in  carry- 
ing on  a  war  for  what  the  majority  of  Parliament  regarded 
as  a  righteous  object,  it  was  no  worse  for  him  to  hire  men 
than  to  buy  cannon  and  ships.  The  German  troops,  on  their 
part,  might  justly  complain  of  Lord  Camden  for  stigmatizing 
them  as  "mercenaries,"  inasmuch  as  they  did  not  come  to 
America  for  pay,  but  because  there  was  no  help  for  it.  It 
was  indeed  with  a  heavy  heart  that  these  honest  men  took 
up  their  arms  to  go  beyond  sea  and  fight  for  a  cause  in 
which  they  felt  no  sort  of  interest,  and  great  was  the  mourn- 
ing over  their  departure.  The  persons  who  really  deserved 
to  bear  the  odium  of  this  transaction  were  the  mercenary 
princes  who  thus  shamelessly  sold  their  subjects  into  slavery. 
It  was  a  striking  instance  of  the  demoralization  which  had 


1775  INDEPENDENCE  171 

been  wrought  among  the  petty  courts  of  Germany  in  the 
last  days  of  the  old  empire,  and  among  the  German   Ind.  na 
people  it  excited  profound  indignation.     The  popu-   tion  in 
lar  feeling  was  well  expressed  by  Schiller,  in  his 
"Cabale  und  Liebe."     Frederick  the  Great,  in  a  letter  to 
Voltaire,  declared  himself  beyond  measure  disgusted,  and 
by  way  of  thriftily  expressing  his  contempt  for  the  transac- 
tion he  gave  orders  to  his  custom  house  officers  that  upon 
all  such  of  these  soldiers  as*  should  pass  through  Prussian 
territory  a  toll  should  be  levied,  as  upon  "  cattle  exported 
for  foreign  shambles." 

When  the  American  question  was  brought  up  in  the 
autumn  session  of  Parliament,  it  was  treated  in  the  manner 
with  which  the  Americans  had  by  this  time  become  familiar. 
A  few  far-sighted  men  still  urged  the  reasonableness  of  the 
American  claims,  but  there  was  now  a  great  majority  against 
them.  In  spite  of  grave  warning  voices,  both  houses  de- 
cided to  support  the  king ;  and  in  this  they  were  upheld  by 
the  university  of  Oxford,  which  a  century  ago  had  burned 
the  works  of  John  Milton  as  "blasphemous,"  and  which 
now,  with  equal  felicity,  in  a  formal  address  to  the  king, 
described  the  Americans  as  "a  people  who  had  forfeited 
their  lives  and  their  fortunes  to  the  justice  of  the  state." 
At  the  same  time  the  department  of  American  affairs  was 
taken  from  the  amiable  Lord  Dartmouth,  and  given  to  the 
truculent  Lord  George  Germain.  These  things  were  done 
in  November,  1775,  and  in  the  preceding  month  they  had 
been  heralded  by  an  act  of  wanton  barbarity  on  the  part  of 
a  British  naval  officer,  albeit  an  unwarranted  act,  which  the 
British  government  as  promptly  as  possible  dis-  Burning  of 
owned.  On  the  16th  of  October,  Captain  Mowatt  o3*rf,d' 
had  sailed  with  four  small  vessels  into  the  harbour  x775 
of  Portland  (then  called  Falmouth),  and  with  shells  and 
grenades  set  fire  to  the  little  town.  St.  Paul's  Church,  all 
the  public  buildings,  and  three  fourths  of  all  the  dwellings 
were  burned  to  the  ground,  and  a  thousand  unoffending 
men,  women,  and  children  were  thus  turned  out-of-doors  just 


172 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  IV 


as  the  sharp  Maine  winter  was  coming  on  to  starve  and 
freeze  them. 

The  news  of  the  burning  of  Portland  reached  Philadelphia 
on  the  same  day  (October  31)  with  the  news  that  George  III. 
was  about  to  send  foreign  mercenaries  to  fight  against  his 
American  subjects ;  and  now  the  wrath  of  Congress  was 
thoroughly  kindled,  and  the  party  which  advised  further 
temporizing  was  thrown  into  helpless  minority. 

"  Well,  brother  rebel,"  said  a  Southern  member  to  Sam- 
uel Ward  of  Rhode  Island,  "  we  have  now  got  a 
sufficient  answer  to  our  petition :  I  want  nothing 
more,  but  am  ready  to  declare  ourselves  independ- 
Congress  now  advised  New  Hampshire,  Virginia,  and 


Effects 

upon 

Congress 


ent/ 


South  Carolina  to   frame   for   themselves   new  republican 


isu.^*** 


A    CONTEMPORARY    SKETCH    OF 


1775 


INDEPENDENCE 


173 


governments,  as  Massachusetts  had  already  done ;  it  urged 
South  Carolina  to  seize  the  British  vessels  in  her  waters  ;  it 
appointed  a  committee  to  correspond  with  foreign  powers ; 
and  above  all,  it  adopted  unreservedly  the  scheme,  already 
partially  carried  into  operation,  for  the  expulsion  of  the  Brit- 
ish from  Canada. 

At  once  upon  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  at  Lexington, 
the  conquest  of  Canada  had  been  contemplated  by  the 
Northern  leaders,  who  well  remembered  how,  in  days  gone 
by,  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  had  furnished  a  base  for 
attacks  upon  the  province  of  New  York,  which  was  then 
the  strategic  centre  of  the  American  world.  It  was  deemed 
an  act  of  military  prudence  to  secure  this  region  at  the  out- 
set.    But  so  long  as  the  least  hope  of  conciliation  remained, 


THE   BURNING   OF   FALMOUTH 


174  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 

Congress  was  unwilling  to  adopt  any  measures  save  such  as 
TheAmeri-  were  purely  defensive  in  character.     As  we  have 

cTnada?"16  seen>  ^  was  only  Wlt^  remctance  that  it  had  sanc- 
Sept.,  1775  tioned  the  garrisoning  of  Ticonderoga  by  the  Con- 
necticut troops.  But  in  the  course  of  the  summer  it  was 
learned  that  the  governor  of  Canada,  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  was 
about  to  take  steps  to  recover  Ticonderoga ;  and  it  was  credi- 


bly reported  that  intrigues  were  going  on  with  the  Iroquois 
tribes,  to  induce  them  to  harry  the  New  England  frontier 
and  the  pleasant  farms  on  the  Hudson  :  so  that,  under  these 
circumstances,  the  invasion  of  Canada  was  now  authorized 
by  Congress  as  a  measure  of  self-defence.  An  expedition 
down  Lake  Champlain,  against  Montreal,  was  at  once  set 


1775  INDEPENDENCE  175 

on  foot.  As  Schuyler,  the  commander  of  the  northern 
department,  was  disabled  by  ill  health,  the  enterprise  was 
confided  to  Richard  Montgomery,  an  officer  who  had  served 
with  distinction  under  Wolfe.    Late  in  August,  Montgomery 


started  from  Ticonderoga,  and  on  the  12th  of  September, 
with  a  force  of  two  thousand  men,  he  laid  siege  to  the 
fortress  of  St.  John's,  which  commanded  the  approach  to 
Montreal.  Carleton,  whose  utmost  exertions  could  bring 
together  only  some  nine  hundred  men,  made  heroic  but 
fruitless  efforts  to  stop  his  progress.  After  a  siege  of  fifty 
days,  St.  John's  surrendered  on  the  3d  of  November,  and 


176  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 

on  the  1 2th  Montgomery  entered  Montreal  in  triumph. 
The  people  of  Canada  had  thus  far  seemed  favourably  dis- 
posed toward  the  American  invaders,  and  Montgomery 
issued  a  proclamation  urging  them  to  lose  no  time  in  choos- 
ing delegates  to  attend  the  Continental  Congress. 

Meanwhile,  in  September,  Washington  had  detached  from 
the  army  at  Cambridge  one  thousand  New  England  infantry, 
with  two  companies  of  Pennsylvania  riflemen  and  Morgan's 
famous  Virginia  sharpshooters,  and  ordered  them  to  advance 
upon  Quebec  through  the  forests  of  Maine  and  by  way  of 
the  rivers  Kennebec  and  Chaudiere.  The  expedition  was 
commanded  by  Colonel  Benedict  Arnold,  who  seems  to  have 
.     ,  „        been  one  of  the  first,  if  not  the  first,  to  suggest  it. 

Arnold's  ,  '  ,  .°° 

march  Such  plans  of  invading  an  enemy  s  territory,  in- 

wiidemess6  volving  the  march  of  independent  forces  upon  con- 
of  Maine  vergent  lines  from  remote  points,  were  much  more 
in  favour  with  military  men  a  century  ago  than  to-day. 
The  vice  of  such  methods  was  often  illustrated  during  our 
Revolutionary  War.  The  vast  distances  and  total  lack  of 
communication  made  effective  cooperation  between  Mont- 
gomery and  Arnold  impossible ;  while  a  surprise  of  Quebec 
by  the  latter,  with  force  sufficient  to  capture  it  unaided,  was 
almost  equally  out  of  the  question.  But  the  very  difficulty 
of  the  scheme  commended  it  to  the  romantic  and  buoyant 
temper  of  Benedict  Arnold.  The  enterprise  was  one  to  call 
for  all  his  persistent  daring  and  fertile  resource.  It  was  an 
amphibious  journey,  as  his  men  now  rowed  their  boats  with 
difficulty  against  the  strong,  swift  current  of  the  Kennebec, 
and  now,  carrying  boats  and  oars  on  their  shoulders,  forced 
their  way  through  the  tangled  undergrowth  of  the  primeval 
forests.  Often  they  had  to  wade  across  perilous  bogs,  and 
presently  their  shoes  were  cut  to  pieces  by  sharp  stones, 
and  their  clothes  torn  to  shreds  by  thorns  and  briers. 
Their  food  gave  out,  and  though  some  small  game  was  shot, 
their  hunger  became  such  that  they  devoured  their  dogs. 
When  they  reached  the  head  of  the  Chaudiere,  after  this 
terrible  march  of  thirty-three  days,   two  hundred  of  their 


1775  INDEPENDENCE  177 

number  had  succumbed  to  starvation,  cold,  and  fatigue, 
while  two  hundred  more  had  given  out  and  returned  to  Mas- 
sachusetts, carrying  with  them  such  of  the  sick  and  disabled 
as  they  could  save.  The  descent  of  the  Chaudiere  in  their 
boats  afforded  some  chance  for  rest,  and  presently  they 
began  to  find  cattle  for  food.  At  last,  on  the  13th  of 
November,  the  next  day  after  Montgomery's  capture  of 
Montreal,  they  crossed  the  broad  St.  Lawrence,  and  climbed 
the  Heights  of  Abraham  at  the  very  place  where  Wolfe  had 
climbed  to  victory  sixteen  years  ago.  There  was  splendid 
bravado  in  Arnold's  advancing  to  the  very  gates  with  his 
little,  worn-out  army,  now  reduced  to  seven  hundred  men, 
and  summoning  the  garrison  either  to  come  out  and  fight, 
or  to  surrender  the  town.  But  the  garrison  very  properly 
would  neither  surrender  nor  fight.  The  town  had  been 
warned  in  time,  and  Arnold  had  no  alternative  but  to  wait 
for  Montgomery  to  join  him. 

Six  days  afterward,  Carleton,  disguised  as  a  farmer,  and 
ferried  down  stream  in  a  little  boat,  found  his  way  into 
Quebec  ;  and  on  the  3d  of  December,  Montgomery  made 
his  appearance  with  a  small  force,  which  raised  the  number 
of  the  Americans  to  twelve  hundred  men.  As  Carleton 
persistently  refused  to  come  out  of  his  defences,  it  was 
resolved  to  carry  the  works  by  storm,  —  a  chivalrous,  nay, 
one  might  almost  say,  a  foolhardy  decision,  had  it  not  been 
so  nearly  justified  by  the  event.  On  the  last  day  Assault 
of  1775,  England  came  within  an  ace  of  losing  b^iSc.6" 
Quebec.  At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  in  a  3*i  «775 
blinding  snowstorm,  Montgomery  and  Arnold  began  each 
a  furious  attack,  at  opposite  sides  of  the  town ;  and  aided 
by  the  surprise,  each  came  near  carrying  his  point.  Mont- 
gomery had  almost  forced  his  way  in  when  he  fell  dead, 
pierced  by  three  bullets  ;  and  this  so  chilled  the  enthusiasm 
of  his  men  that  they  flagged,  until  reinforcements  drove 
them  back.  Arnold,  on  his  side,  was  severely  wounded 
and  carried  from  the  field ;  but  the  indomitable  Morgan 
took  his  place,  and  his  Virginia  company  stormed  the  bat- 


178  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 

tery  opposed  to  them,  and  fought  their  way  far  into  the 
town.  Had  the  attack  on  the  other  side  been  kept  up 
with  equal  vigour,  as  it  might  have  been  but  for  Montgom- 
ery's death,  Quebec  must  have  fallen.  As  it  was,  Morgan's 
triumphant  advance  only  served  to  isolate  him,  and  pres- 
ently he  and  his  gallant  company  were  surrounded  and 
captured. 

With  the  failure  of  this  desperate  attack  passed  away  the 
Total  golden  opportunity  for  taking  the  citadel  of  Canada, 

theattem  t  Arnold  remained  throughout  the  winter  in  the 
upon  neighbourhood  of  Quebec,  and  in  the  spring  the 

enterprise  was  taken  up  by  Wooster  and  Sullivan 
with  fresh  forces.  But  by  this  time  many  Hessians  had 
come  over,  and  Carleton,  reinforced  until  his  army  num- 
bered 13,000,  was  enabled  to  recapture  Montreal  and  push 
back  the  Americans,  until  in  June,  after  a  hazardous  retreat, 
well  conducted  by  Sullivan,  the  remnant  of  their  invading 
army  found  shelter  at  Crown  Point.  Such  was  the  disas- 
trous ending  of  a  campaign  which  at  the  outset  had  prom- 
ised a  brilliant  success,  and  which  is  deservedly  famous  for 
the  heroism  and  skill  with  which  it  was  conducted.  The 
generalship  of  Montgomery  received  the  warm  approval  of 
no  less  a  critic  than  Frederick  the  Great  ;  and  the  chival- 
rous bravery  of  Arnold,  both  in  his  march  through  the 
wilderness  and  in  the  military  operations  which  followed, 
was  such  that  if  a  kind  fate  could  then  and  there  have  cut 
the  thread  of  his  life,  he  would  have  left  behind  him  a 
sweet  and  shining  memory.  As  for  the  attempt  to  bring 
Canada  into  the  American  union,  it  was  one  which  had  no 
hope  of  success  save  through  a  strong  display  of  military 
force.  The  sixteen  years  which  had  elapsed  since  the  vic- 
tory of  Wolfe  had  not  transformed  the  Canadian  of  the  old 
regime  into  a  free-born  Englishman.  The  question  at  pres- 
ent for  him  was  only  that  of  a  choice  of  allegiance,  and 
while  at  first  the  invaders  were  favourably  received,  it  soon 
became  apparent  that  between  the  Catholic  and  the  Puritan 
there  could  be  but  little  real  sympathy.     The  Quebec  Act, 


1776 


INDEPENDENCE 


179 


which  legalized  Catholic  worship  in  Canada,  had  done  much 
toward  securing  England's  hold  upon  this  part  of  her  Amer- 
ican possessions.  And  although,  in  the  colourless  political 
condition  of  this  northern  province,  the  capture  of  Quebec 
might  well  have  brought  it  into  the  American  union,  where 
it  would  gradually  have  taken  on  a  fresh  life,  as  surely  as 


THE    HANCOCK    HOUSE,    BEACON    HILL,    BOSTON 


it  has  done  under  British  guidance,  yet  nothing  short  of 
such  a  military  occupation  could  have  had  any  effect  in 
determining  its  languid  preferences. 

While  Canada  was  thus  freed  from  the  presence  of  the 
Continental  troops,  the  British  army,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  driven  from  Boston,  and  New  England  was  cleared  of 
the  enemy.  During  the  autumn  and  winter,  Washington 
had  drawn  his  lines  as  closely  as  possible  about  the  town, 
while  engaged  in  the  work  of  organizing  and  equipping  his 
army.  The  hardest  task  was  to  collect  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  powder  and  ball,  and  to  bring  together  siege-guns.     As 


180  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 

the  season  wore  on,  the  country  grew  impatient,  and  Wash- 
ington sometimes  had  to  listen  to  criticisms  like  those  that 
The  siege  were  directed  against  McClellan  in  Virginia,  at 
of  Boston  the  beginning  of  1862,  or  against  Grant  before 
Vicksburg,  in  the  spring  of  1863.  President  Hancock,  who 
owned  a  great  deal  of  property  in  Boston,  urged  him  to  set 
fire  to  the  town  and  destroy  it,  if  by  so  doing  he  could  drive 
the  British  to  their  ships.  But  Washington  had  planned 
much  more  wisely.  By  the  1st  of  March  a  great  quantity 
of  cannon  had  been  brought  in  by  Henry  Knox,  some  of 
them  dragged  on  sledges  all  the  way  from  Ticonderoga,  and 
so  at  last  Washington  felt  himself  prepared  to  seize  upon 
Dorchester  Heights.  This  position  commanded  the  town 
and  harbour  even  more  effectually  than  Bunker  Hill,  and 
why  in  all  these  months  General  Howe  had  not  occupied  it 
one  would  find  it  hard  to  say.  He  was  bitterly  attacked 
for  his  remissness  by  the  British  newspapers,  as  was  quite 
natural. 

Washington  chose  for  his  decisive  movement  the  night  of 
the  4th  of  March.  Eight  hundred  men  led  the  way,  escort- 
ing the  wagons  laden  with  spades  and  crowbars,  hatchets, 
Washing-  hammers,  and  nails  ;  and  after  them  followed  twelve 
DorchesTer  hundred  men,  with  three  hundred  ox-carts,  carry- 
MalchtS'  *n&  tubers  and  bales  of  hay ;  while  the  rear  was 
1776  brought  up  by  the  heavy  siege-guns.     From  Som- 

erville,  East  Cambridge,  and  Roxbury,  a  furious  cannon- 
ade was  begun  soon  after  sunset  and  kept  up  through  the 
night,  completely  absorbing  the  attention  of  the  British, 
who  kept  up  a  lively  fire  in  return.  The  roar  of  the 
cannon  drowned  every  other  sound  for  miles  around,  while 
all  night  long  the  two  thousand  Americans,  having  done 
their  short  march  in  perfect  secrecy,  were  busily  digging 
and  building  on  Dorchester  Heights,  and  dragging  their 
siege-guns  into  position.  Early  next  morning,  Howe  saw 
with  astonishment  what  had  been  done,  and  began  to  realize 
his  perilous  situation.  The  commander  of  the  fleet  sent 
word   that   unless  the   Americans  could  be  forthwith  dis- 


SCALE   OF   MILES. 


BOSTON,  WITH    ITS    ENVIRONS,  IN    1775    AND    1 776 


182 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  IV 


lodged,  he  could  not  venture  to  keep  his  ships  in  the  har- 
bour. Most  of  the  day  was  consumed  in  deciding  what 
should  be  done,  until  at  last  Lord  Percy  was  told  to  take 
three  thousand  men  and  storm  the  works.  But  the  slaugh- 
ter of  Bunker  Hill  had  taught  its  lesson  so  well  that  neither 
Percy  nor  his  men  had  any  stomach  for  such  an  enterprise. 
A  violent  storm,  coming  up  toward  nightfall,  persuaded 
them  to  delay  the  attack  till  next  day,  and  by  that  time  it 
had  become  apparent  to  all  that  the  American  works,  con- 
tinually growing,  had  become  impregnable.  Percy's  orders 
were  accordingly  countermanded,  and  it  was  decided  to 
abandon  the  town  immediately.  It  was  the  sixth  anniver- 
sary of  the  day  on  which  Hutchinson  had  yielded  to  the 
demand  of  the  town  meeting  and  withdrawn  the  two  British 
regiments  from  Boston.  The  work  then  begun  was  now 
consummated  by  Washington,  and  from  that  time  forth  the 
deliverance  of  Massachusetts  was  complete.     Howe  caused 


MEDAL   GRANTED   TO   WASHINGTON 


1776 


INDEPENDENCE 


183 


it  at  once  to  be  known  among  the  citizens  that  he  was  about 
to  evacuate  Boston,  but  he  threatened  to  lay  the  town  in 
ashes  if  his  troops  should  be  fired  on.    The  selectmen  con- 
veyed due  information  of   all  this  to  Washington,    The  Brit- 
who  accordingly,  secure  in  the  achievement  of  his   evacuate* 
purpose,  allowed  the  enemy  to  depart  in  peace.    By   MardTi; 
the  17th,  the  eight  thousand  troops  were   all   on    l77^> 
board  their  ships,  and,  taking  with  them  all  the  Tory  citizens, 
some  nine  hundred  in  number,  they  sailed  away  for  Halifax. 
Their  space  did  not  permit  them  to  carry  away  their  heavy 
arms,  and  their  retreat,  slow  as  it  was,  bore  marks  of  hurry 
and  confusion.     In   taking  possession  of  the  town,  Wash- 
ington captured  more  than  two  hundred  serviceable  cannon, 
ten  times  more  powder  and  ball  than  his  army  had  ever 
seen  before,  and  an  immense  quantity  of  muskets,  gun-car- 
riages, and  military  stores  of  every  sort.     Thus  was  New 
England  set  free  by  a  single  brilliant  stroke,  with  very  slight 


FOR   HIS  CAPTURE  OF   BOSTON 


184  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 


EVOLUTION   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES   FLAG1 

injury  to  private  property,  and  with  a  total  loss  of  not  more 
than  twenty  lives. 

The  time  was  now  fairly  ripe  for  the  colonies  to  declare 
themselves  independent  of  Great  Britain.  The  idea  of  a 
separation  from  the  mother-country,  which  in  the  autumn 
had  found  but  few  supporters,  grew  in  favour  day  by  day 
through  the  winter  and  spring.  The  incongruousness  of 
A  provi-  tne  present  situation  was  typified  by  the  flag  that 
sionaiflag  Washington  flung  to  the  breeze  on  New  Year's 
Day  at  Cambridge,  which  was  made  up  of  thirteen  stripes, 
to  represent  the  United  Colonies,  but  retained  the  British 
crosses  in  the  corner.  Thus  far,  said  Benjamin  Harrison, 
they  had  contrived  to  "  hobble  along  under  a  fatal  attach- 
ment to  Great  Britain,"  but  the  time  had  come  when  one 
must  consider  the  welfare  of  one's  own  country  first  of  all. 
As  Samuel  Adams  said,  their  petitions  had  not  been  heard, 

1  The  first  stage  was  the  change  from  the  solid  red  of  the  British 
ensign  to  the  alternate  red  and  white  stripes,  as  seen  in  the  flag  on  the 
right,  which  typified  the  thirteen  confederated  colonies.  After  alle- 
giance to  the  British  crown  had  been  thrown  off,  the  union  of  red  St. 
George  and  white  St.  Andrew  crosses  upon  the  blue  corner  became 
inappropriate,  and  in  June,  1777,  Congress  substituted  the  circle  of 
thirteen  white  stars  on  a  blue  ground,  to  signify  the  rise  of  a  new  con- 
stellation of  states. 


1776 


INDEPENDENCE 


i85 


and  yet  had  been  answered  by  armies  and  fleets,  and  by 
myrmidons  hired  from  abroad.  Nothing  had  made  a  greater 
impression  upon  the  American  people  than  this  hiring  of 
German  troops.  It  went  farther  than  any  other  Effect  of 
single  cause  to  ripen  their  minds  for  the  declara-  of^myrmi- 
f!ion  of  independence.  Many  now  began  to  agree  dons " 
with  the  Massachusetts  statesman ;  and  while  public  opinion 
was  in  this  malleable  condition,  there  appeared  a  pamphlet 
which  wrought  a  prodigious  effect  upon  the  people,  mainly 
because  it  gave  terse  and  vigorous  expression  to  views 
which  every  one  had  already  more  than  half  formed  for 
himself. 

Thomas  Paine  had  come  over  to  America  in  December, 
1774,  and  through  the  favour  of  Franklin  had  secured  em- 
ployment as  editor  of  the  "  Pennsylvania  Magazine."  He 
was  by  nature  a  dissenter  and 
a  revolutionist  to  the  marrow 
of  his  bones.  Full  of  the 
generous  though  often  blind 
enthusiasm  of  the  eighteenth 
century  for  the  "  rights  of 
man,"  he  was  no  respecter  of 
the  established  order,  whether 
in  church  or  state.  To  him 
the  church  and  its  doctrines 
meant  slavish  superstition,  and 
the  state  meant  tyranny.  Of 
crude  undisciplined  mind,  and 
little  scholarship,  yet  endowed 
with  native  acuteness  and  sa- 
gacity, and  with  no  mean 
power  of  expressing  himself, 
Paine   succeeded   in   making 

everybody  read  what  he  wrote,  and  achieved  a  popular  repu- 
tation out  of  all  proportion  to  his  real  merit.  Among  devout 
American  families  his  name  was  for  a  long  time  a  name 
of  horror  and  opprobrium,  and  uneducated  free  thinkers  still 


<?Ol 


cu/kj^ 


186  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 

build  lecture-halls  in  honour  of  his  memory,  and  celebrate 
the  anniversary  of  his  birthday,  with  speeches  full  of  harm- 
less but  rather  dismal  platitudes.  The  "Age  of  Reason," 
which  was  the  cause  of  all  this  blessing  and  banning,  con- 
tains, amid  much  crude  argument,  some  sound  and  sensible 
criticism,  such  as  is  often  far  exceeded  in  boldness  in  the 
books  and  sermons  of  Unitarian  and  Episcopalian  divines 
of  the  present  day ;  but  its  tone  is  coarse  and  dull,  and 
with  the  improvement  of  popular  education  it  is  fast  sinking 
into  oblivion.  There  are  times,  however,  when  such  caus- 
tic pamphleteers  as  Thomas  Paine  have  their  uses.  There 
are  times  when  they  can  bring  about  results  which  are  not 
so  easily  achieved  by  men  of  finer  mould  and  more  subtle 
intelligence.  It  was  at  just  such  a  time,  in  January,  1776, 
that  Paine  published  his  pamphlet,  "Common  Sense,"  on 
"Common  tne  suggestion  of  Benjamin  Rush,  and  with  the 
Sense"  approval  of  Franklin  and  of  Samuel  Adams.  The 
pamphlet  contains  some  irrelevant  abuse  of  the  English 
people,  and  resorts  to  such  arguments  as  the  denial  of  the 
English  origin  of  the  Americans.  Not  one  third  of  the  peo- 
ple, even  of  Pennsylvania,  are  of  English  descent,  argues 
Paine,  as  if  Pennsylvania  had  been  preeminent  among  the 
colonies  for  its  English  blood,  and  not,  as  in  reality,  one 
of  the  least  English  of  all  the  thirteen.  But  along  with  all 
this  there  was  a  sensible  and  striking  statement  of  the 
practical  state  of  the  case  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
colonies.  The  reasons  were  shrewdly  and  vividly  set  forth 
for  looking  upon  reconciliation  as  hopeless,  and  for  seizing 
the  present  moment  to  declare  to  the  world  what  the  logic 
of  events  was  already  fast  making  an  accomplished  fact. 
Only  thus,  it  was  urged,  could  the  States  of  America  pur- 
sue a  coherent  and  well-defined  policy,  and  preserve  their 
dignity  in  the  eyes  of  the  world. 

It  was  difficult  for  the  printers,  with  the  clumsy  presses 
of  that  day,  to  bring  out  copies  of  "  Common  Sense  "  fast 
enough  to  meet  the  demand  for  it.  More  than  a  hundred 
thousand  copies  were  speedily  sold,  and  it  carried  conviction 


34  COMMON    SENSE 

The  Sun  never  Ihmed  on  a  eaufe  of  greater  worth* 
*!is  not  the  affair  of  a  City,  a  County,  a  Provincejpr 
a  Kingdom  ;  but  of  a  Continent — of  at  leaft  one  eight 
part  of  the  habitable  Globe,  9T1$  not  the. concern,  of 
a  day,  a  year,  or  an  age  s  pofteriry  are.  virtually  involv- 
ed in  the  conteft,  and  will  be  more  or  Jels  affecleci  e- 
ven  to  the  end  of  time  by  the  proceedings  now*  Now* 
Is  the  feed- time  of  Continent*]  union,  fait  hand  honor* 
The  leaft  fra&urc  now,  will  be  like  a  name  engraved 
with  the  point  of  a  pin  on  the  tender  nnd  of  a  young 
oak  *  the^wound  wjD  enlarge  with  the  treef  and  poffar* 
rlcy  read  it  in  full  grown  characters* 

By  referring  the  matter  from  argument  to  arms,  a 
new  sera  for  politics  rs  (buck — anew,  method  of  think- 
ing hath  ariicn.  AlLplans,  propofals,  &c*  pxior  to 
the  igth  of  April,  k  Ato  the  commencement  of  hof* 
tiHties,  are  bke  the  almanacks  of  the  laft  year ;  which 
tho*  proper  then,  are  fuperfeded  and  ufelefs  now. 
Whatever  was  advanced  by  the  advocates  on,  either 
fide  orthequeft  on.  then,  terminated  in,  one  and  the 
fame  point,  viz*  a  union  with  Great^Briiain  •,  the  only 
difference  between  the  parries,  was  the  method  of 
effecirinfiptf  •,  the  onepropofinglbrce,  the  other  friend- 
ship:  tut  it  hath  fo  far  happened  that  the  firft  hath 
faded^  and  the  fecund  hath  withdrawn  her  influence. 

As  muckhaxh  beenfaid  of  the  advantages  of>econ- 
dliation,  which  like  an  agreeable  dream,  hath  palled 
away,  and  left  us  as  we  were,  it  is  but  right  that  we 
fiiould  examine  the  contrary  fide  of  the  argument,  and 
enquire  into  fomeof  the  many  material  injuries  wmch 
thete  Colonies  fuftain,  and  always  will  juftain,  by  being 
connected  with,  and  dependant  on  Great-Britain.—- 
To  examine  that  connedion  and  dependance,  Oil  the 
principles  of  nature  and  common  fenie,  to  lee  what  we 
have  ro  truft  to  if  iepatated,  and  what  we  are  tocxpecfc 
it  dependant,  i 


A    PAGE    FROM     "  COMMON    SENSE 


188  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 

wherever  it  went.  At  the  same  time,  Parliament  did  its 
best  to  reinforce  the  argument  by  passing. an  act  to  close  all 
American  ports,  and  authorize  the  confiscation  of  all  Amer- 
ican ships  and  cargoes,  as  well  as  of  such  neutral  vessels  as 
might  dare  to  trade  with  this  proscribed  people.  And,  as 
if  this  were  not  quite  enough,  a  clause  was  added  by  which 
British  commanders  on  the  high  seas  were  directed  to  im- 
Fuimina-  press  the  crews  of  such  American  ships  as  they 
countCT-fui-  mignt  meet,  and  to  compel  them,  under  penalty  of 
minations  death,  to  enter  the  service  against  their  fellow- 
countrymen.  In  reply  to  this  edict,  Congress,  in  March, 
ordered  the  ports  of  America  to  be  thrown  open  to  all  na- 
tions ;  it  issued  letters  of  marque,  and  it  advised  all  the  colo- 
nies to  disarm  such  Tories  as  should  refuse  to  contribute  to 
the  common  defence.  These  measures,  as  Franklin  said, 
were  virtually  a  declaration  of  war  against  Great  Britain. 
But  before  taking  the  last  irrevocable  step,  the  prudent 
Congress  waited  for  instructions  from  every  one  of  the 
colonies. 

The  first  colony  to  take  decisive  action  in  behalf  of  inde- 
pendence was  North  Carolina,  a  commonwealth  in  which 
the  king  had  supposed  the  outlook  to  be  especially  favour- 
able for  the  loyalist  party.  Recovered  in  some  measure 
from  the  turbulence  of  its  earlier  days,  North  Carolina  was 
fast  becoming  a  prosperous  community  of  small  planters, 
and  its  population  had  increased  so  rapidly  that  it  now 
ranked  fourth  among  the  colonies,  immediately  after  Penn- 
sylvania. Since  the  overthrow  of  the  Pretender  at  Culloden 
there   had   been   a   great   immigration   of   sturdy 

J.  lie  oCOXS 

in  North  Scots  from  the  western  Highlands,  in  which  the 
clans  of  Macdonald  and  Macleod  were  especially 
represented.  The  celebrated  Flora  Macdonald  herself,  the 
romantic  woman  who  saved  Charles  Edward  in  1746,  had 
lately  come  over  here  and  settled  at  Kingsborough  with 
Allan  Macdonald,  her  husband.  These  Scottish  immigrants 
also  helped  to  colonize  the  upland  regions  of  South  Carolina 
and  Georgia,  and  they  have  considerably  affected  the  race 


T776  INDEPENDENCE  189 

composition  of  the  Southern  people,  forming  an  ancestry  of 
which  their  descendants  may  well  be  proud.  Though  these 
Highland  clansmen  had  taken  part  in  the  Stuart  insurrec- 
tion, they  had  become  loyal  enough  to  the  government  of 
George  III.,  and  it  was  now  hoped  that  with  their  aid  the 
colony  might  be  firmly  secured,  and  its  neighbours  on  either 
side  overawed.  To  this  end,  in  January,  Sir  Henry  clinton 
Clinton,  taking  with  him  2,000  troops,  left  Boston   sails  for  the 

. ,    -  ,        ^  t-  •  t_M  r  Carolinas 

and  sailed  for  the  Cape  Fear  river,  while  a  force 
of  seven  regiments  and  ten  ships-of-war,  under  Sir  Peter 
Parker,  was  ordered  from  Ireland  to  cooperate  with  him. 
At  the  same  time,  Josiah  Martin,  the  royal  governor,  who 
for  safety  had  retired  on  board  a  British  ship,  carried  on 
negotiations  with  the  Highlanders,  until  a  force  of   1,600 
men  was  raised,  and,  under  command  of  Donald  Macdonald, 
marched  down  toward  the  coast  to  welcome  the  arrival  of 
Clinton.     But  North  Carolina  had  its  minute-men  as  well  as 
Massachusetts,  and  no  sooner  was  this  movement  perceived 
than  Colonel  Richard  Caswell,  with  1,000  militia,    The  fight 
took  up  a  strong  position  at  the  bridge  over  Moore's   creek,°Feb. 
Creek,  which  Macdonald  was  about  to  pass  on  his   2?>  J7?6 
way  to  the  coast.     After  a  sharp  fight  of  a  half  hour's  dura- 
tion  the    Scots  were  seized  with  panic,   and  were  utterly 
routed.     Nine  hundred  prisoners,  2,000  stand  of  arms,  and 
,£15,000  in  gold  were  the  trophies  of    Caswell's  victory. 
The  Scottish  commander  and  his  kinsman,  the  husband  of 
Flora  Macdonald,  were  taken  and  lodged  in  jail,  and  thus 
ended  the  sway  of  George  III.  over  North  Carolina.     The 
effect  of  the  victory  was  as  contagious  as  that  of  Lexington 
had  been  in  New  England.     Within  ten  days   10,000  militia 
were  ready  to  withstand  the  enemy,  so  that  Clinton,  on  his 
arrival,  decided  not  to  land,  and  stayed  cruising  about  Albe- 
marle Sound,  waiting  for  the  fleet  under  Parker, 
which  did  not  appear  on  the  scene  until  May.     A   Carolina 
provincial  congress  was  forthwith  assembled,  and   independ- 
instructions  were  sent  to  the  North  Carolina  dele-   ence 
gates  in  the  Continental  Congress,  empowering  them  "to 


190  THE  AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 

concur  with  the  delegates  in  the  other  colonies  in  declaring 
independency  and  forming  foreign  alliances,  reserving  to 
the  colony  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  of  forming  a  consti- 
tution and  laws  for  it." 

At  the  same  time  that  these  things  were  taking  place,  the 
colony  of  South  Carolina  was  framing  for  itself  a  new  gov- 
Action  of  ernment,  and  on  the  23d  of  March,  without  directly 
oUnahandr  alluding  to  independence,  it  empowered  its  dele- 
Georgia  gates  to  concur  in  any  measure  which  might  be 
deemed  essential  to  the  welfare  of  America.  In  Georgia 
the  provincial  congress,  in  choosing  a  new  set  of  delegates 
to  Philadelphia,  authorized  them  to  "join  in  any  measure 
which  they  might  think  calculated  for  the  common  good." 

In  Virginia  the  party  in  favour  of  independence  had  been 
in  the  minority,  until,  in  November,  1775,  the  royal  gov- 
ernor, Lord  Dunmore,  had  issued  a  proclamation,  offering 
freedom  to  all  such  negroes  and  indented  white  servants  as 
v.  .  .  might  enlist  for  the  purpose  of  "  reducing  the  col- 
Lord  Dun-    ony  to  a  proper  sense  of  its  duty."     This  measure 

more's 

prociama-  Lord  Dunmore  hoped  would  "  oblige  the  rebels  to 
disperse,  in  order  to  take  care  of  their  families  and 
property."  But  the  object  was  not  attained.  The  relations 
between  master  and  slave  in  Virginia  were  so  pleasant  that 
the  offer  of  freedom  fell  upon  dull,  uninterested  ears.  With 
light  work  and  generous  fare,  the  condition  of  the  Virginia 
negro  was  a  happy  one.  The  time  had  not  yet  come  when 
he  was  liable  to  be  torn  from  wife  and  children,  to  die  of 
hardship  in  the  cotton-fields  and  rice-swamps  of  the  far  South. 
He  was  proud  of  his  connection  with  his  master's  estate  and 
family,  and  had  nothing  to  gain  by  rebellion.  As  for  the  in- 
dented white  servants,  the  governor's  proposal  to  them  was 
of  about  as  much  consequence  as  a  proclamation  of  Napo- 
leon's would  have  been  if,  in  1805,  ne  na^  offered  to  set  free 
the  prisoners  in  Newgate  on  condition  of  their  helping  him 
to  invade  England.  But,  impotent  as  this  measure  of  Lord 
Dunmore' s  was,  it  served  to  enrage  the  people  of  Virginia, 
setting  their  minds  irretrievably  against  the   king  and  his 


1776 


INDEPENDENCE 


191 


WMfH 


cause.  During  the  month  of 
November,  hearing  that  a  party 
of  " rebels"  were  on  their  way 
from  North  Carolina  to  take  pos- 
session of  Norfolk,  Lord  Dun- 
more  built  a  rude  fort  at  the 
Great  Bridge  over  Elizabeth  riv- 
er, which  commanded  the  south- 
ern approach  to  the  town.  At 
that  time,  Norfolk,  with  about 
9,000  inhabitants,  was  the  prin- 
cipal town  in  Virginia,  and  the 
commercial  centre  of  the  colony. 
The  loyalist  party,    represented 

chiefly  by  Scottish  merchants,  was  so  strong  there  and  so 
violent  that  many  of  the  native  Virginia  families,  finding  it 
uncomfortable  to  stay  in  their  homes,  had  gone  away  into 
the  country.  The  patriots,  roused  to  anger  by  skirmish 
Dunmore's  proclamation,  now  resolved  to  capture  Bridget 
Norfolk,  and  a  party  of  sharpshooters,  with  whom  F*d  h^'r 
the  illustrious  John  Marshall  served  as  lieutenant,  folk 
occupied  the  bank  of  Elizabeth  river,  opposite  Dunmore's 
fort.  On  the  9th  of  December,  after  a  sharp  fight  of  fifteen 
minutes,  in  which  Dunmore's  regulars  lost  sixty-one  men, 
while  not  a  single  Virginian  was  slain,  the  fort  was  hastily 
abandoned,  and  the  road  to  Norfolk  was  laid  open  for  the 
patriots.  A  few  days  later  the  Virginians  took  possession 
of  their  town,  while  Dunmore  sought  refuge  in  the  Liver- 
pool, ship-of-the-line,  which  had  just  sailed  into  the  harbour. 
On  New  Year's  Day  the  governor  vindictively  set  fire  to  the 
town,  which  he  had  been  unable  to  hold  against  its  right- 
ful owners.  The  conflagration,  kindled  by  shells  from  the 
harbour,  raged  for  three  days  and  nights,  until  the  whole 
town  was  laid  in  ashes,  and  the  people  were  driven  to  seek 
such  sorry  shelter  as  might  save  them  from  the  frosts  of 
midwinter. 

This  event  went  far  toward  determining  the  attitude  of 


192  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 

Virginia.  In  November  the  colony  had  not  felt  ready  to 
comply  with  the  recommendation  of  Congress,  and  frame  for 
herself  a  new  government.  The  people  were  not  yet  ready 
Virginia  to  sever  the  links  which  bound  them  to  Great  Brit- 
iSeprend-0r  am-  But  tne  bombardment  of  their  principal  town 
ence  was  an  argument  of  which  every  one  could  appre- 

ciate the  force  and  the  meaning.  During  the  winter  and 
spring  the  revolutionary  feeling  waxed  in  strength  daily. 
On  the  6th  of  May,  1776,  a  convention  was  chosen  to  con- 
sider the  question  of  independence.  Mason,  Henry,  Pendle- 
ton, and  the  illustrious  Madison  took  part  in  the  discussion, 
and  on  the  14th  it  was  unanimously  voted  to  instruct  the  Vir- 
ginia delegates  in  Congress  "  to  propose  to  that  respectable 
body  to  declare  the  United  Colonies  free  and  independent 
States,"  and  to  "give  the  assent  of  the  colony  to  measures 
to  form  foreign  alliances  and  a  confederation,  provided  the 
power  of  forming  government  for  the  internal  regulations 
of  each  colony  be  left  to  the  colonial  legislatures."  At  the 
same  time,  it  was  voted  that  the  people  of  Virginia  should 
establish  a  new  government  for  their  commonwealth.  In 
the  evening,  when  these  decisions  had  been  made  known  to 
the  people  of  Williamsburgh,  their  exultation  knew  no 
bounds.  While  the  air  was  musical  with  the  ringing  of 
church-bells,  guns  were  fired,  the  British  flag  was  hauled 
down  at  the  State  House,  and  the  crosses  and  stripes 
hoisted  in  its  place. 

This  decisive  movement  of  the  largest  of  the  colonies  was 
hailed  throughout  the  country  with  eager  delight ;  and  from 
Action  of  other  colonies  which  had  not  yet  committed  them- 
?ilodd  d  se^ves  responses  came  quickly.  Rhode  Island, 
Massachu-  which  had  never  parted  with  its  original  charter, 
did  not  need  to  form  a  new  government,  but  it  had 
already,  on  the  4th  of  May,  omitted  the  king's  name  from 
its  public  documents  and  sheriff's  writs,  and  had  agreed  to 
concur  with  any  measures  which  Congress  might  see  fit  to 
adopt  regarding  the  relations  between  England  and  America. 
In  the  course  of  the  month  of  May  town  meetings  were 


1776 


INDEPENDENCE 


*93 


INDEPENDENCE    HALL,    PHILADELPHIA 


held  throughout  Massachusetts  and  it  was  everywhere  unan- 
imously voted  to  uphold  Congress  in  the  declaration  of 
independence  which  it  was  now  expected  to  make. 

On  the  15th  of  May,  Congress  adopted  a  resolution  recom- 
mending to  all  the  colonies  to  form  for  themselves  independ- 
ent governments,  and  in  a  preamble,  written  by  John  Adams, 
it  was  declared  that  the  American  people  could  no  longer 
conscientiously  take  oath  to  support  any  govern-  Resolution 
ment  deriving  its  authority  from  the  Crown ;  all  of  May  I5 
such  governments  must  now  be  suppressed,  since  the  king 
had  withdrawn  his  protection  from  the  inhabitants  of  the 
United  Colonies.  Like  the  famous  preamble  to  Town- 
shend's  bill  of  1767,  this  Adams  preamble  contained  within 
itself  the  gist  of  the  whole  matter.  To  adopt  it  was  virtu- 
ally to  cross  the  Rubicon,  and  it  gave  rise  to  a  hot  debate. 
James  Duane  of  New  York  admitted  that  if  the  facts  stated 
in  the  preamble  should  turn  out  to  be  true,  there  would  not 
be  a  single  voice  against  independence ;  but  he  could  not 
yet  believe  that  the  American  petitions  were  not  destined 


194  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 

to  receive  a  favourable  answer.  "Why,"  therefore,  "all 
this  haste  ?  Why  this  urging  ?  Why  this  driving  ?  "  James 
Wilson  of  Pennsylvania,  one  of  the  ablest  of  all  the  dele- 
gates in  the  revolutionary  body,  urged  that  Congress  had 
not  yet  received  sufficient  authority  from  the  people  to  jus- 
tify it  in  taking  so  bold  a  step.  The  resolution  was  adopted, 
however,  preamble  and  all ;  and  now  the  affair  came  quickly 
to  maturity.  "The  Gordian  knot  is  cut  at  last !  "  exclaimed 
John  Adams.  In  town  meeting  the  people  of  Boston  thus 
instructed  their  delegates  :  "  The  whole  United  Colonies  are 
upon  the  verge  of  a  glorious  revolution.  We  have  seen  the 
petitions  to  the  king  rejected  with  disdain.  For  the  prayer 
of  peace  he  has  tendered  the  sword  ;  for  liberty,  chains  ;  for 
safety,  death.  Loyalty  to  him  is  now  treason  to  our  coun- 
try. We  think  it  absolutely  impracticable  for  these 
tionsfrom  colonies  to  be  ever  again  subject  to  or  dependent 
upon  Great  Britain,  without  endangering  the  very 
existence  of  the  state.  Placing,  however,  unbounded  con- 
fidence in  the  supreme  council  of  the  Congress,  we  are 
determined  to  wait,  most  patiently  wait,  till  their  wisdom 
shall  dictate  the  necessity  of  making  a  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence. In  case  the  Congress  should  think  it  necessary 
for  the  safety  of  the  United  Colonies  to  declare  them  inde- 
pendent of  Great  Britain,  the  inhabitants,  with  their  lives 
and  the  remnant  of  their  fortunes,  will  most  cheerfully  sup- 
port them  in  the  measure." 

This  dignified  and  temperate  expression  of  public  opinion 
;  was  published  in  a  Philadelphia  evening  paper,  on 

tion  in         the  8th  of  June.     On  the  preceding  day  in  accord- 
ance with  the  instructions  which  had  come  from 
Virginia,  the  following  motion  had  been  submitted  to  Con- 
gress by  Richard  Henry  Lee  :  — 

"  That  these  United  Colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to 
be,  free  and  independent  States ;  that  they  are  absolved 
from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  Crown ;  and  that  all  politi- 
cal connection  between  them  and  the  state  of  Great  Britain 
is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved. 


776 


INDEPENDENCE 


95 


"  That  it  is  expedient  forthwith  to  take  the  most  effectual 
measures  for  forming  foreign  alliances. 

"  That  a  plan  of  confederation  be  prepared  and  transmitted 
to  the  respective  colonies,  for  their  consideration  and  appro- 
bation." 

In  these  trying  times  the  two  greatest  colonies,  Virginia 
and  Massachusetts,  had  been  wont  to  go  hand  in  hand ; 
and  the  motion  of  Richard  Henry  Lee  was  now  promptly 


seconded  by  John  Adams.  It  was  resisted  by  Dickinson 
and  Wilson  of  Pennsylvania,  and  by  Robert  Livingston  of 
New  York,  on  the  ground  that  public  opinion  in  the  middle 
colonies  was  not  yet  ripe  for  supporting  such  a  measure  ;  at 
the  same  time  these  cautious  members  freely  acknowledged 
that   the   lingering   hope   of   an   amicable   settlement  with 


196  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 

Great  Britain  had  come  to  be  quite  chimerical.     The  pros- 
pect of  securing  European  alliances  was  freely  dis- 
Lee's  cussed.     The  supporters  of  the  motion  urged  that 

a  declaration  of  independence  would  be  nothing 
more  than  the  acknowledgment  of  a  fact  which  existed 
already;  and  until  this  fact  should  be  formally  acknow- 
ledged, it  was  not  to  be  supposed  that  diplomatic  courtesy 
would  allow  such  powers  as  France  or  Spain  to  treat  with 
the  Americans.  On  the  other  hand,  the  opponents  of  the 
motion  argued  that  France  and  Spain  were  not  likely  to 
look  with  favour  upon  the  rise  of  a  great  Protestant  power 
in  the  western  hemisphere,  and  that  nothing  would  be 
easier  than  for  these  nations  to  make  a  bargain  with  Eng- 
land, whereby  Canada  might  be  restored  to  France  and 
Florida  to  Spain,  in  return  for  military  aid  in  putting  down 
the  rebellious  colonies.  The  result  of  the  whole  discussion 
was  decidedly  in  favour  of  a  declaration  of  independence ; 
but  to  avoid  all  appearance  of  undue  haste,  it  was  decided, 
on  the  motion  of  Edward  Rutledge  of  South  Carolina,  to 
postpone  the  question  for  three  weeks,  and  invite  the  judg- 
ment of  those  colonies  which  had  not  yet  declared  them- 
selves. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  several  colonies  acted 
Connect!-  with  a  promptness  that  outstripped  the  expecta- 
Ne^nd  tions  of  Congress.  Connecticut  had  no  need  of  a 
Hampshire  new  government,  for,  like  Rhode  Island,  she  had 
always  kept  the  charter  obtained  from  Lord  Clarendon  in 
1662,  she  had  always  chosen  her  own  governor,  and  had 
always  been  virtually  independent  of  Great  Britain.  Nothing 
now  was  necessary  but  to  omit  the  king's  name  from  legal 
documents  and  commercial  papers,  and  to  instruct  her  dele- 
gates in  Congress  to  support  Lee's  motion ;  and  these  things 
were  done  by  the  Connecticut  legislature  on  the  14th  of 
June.  The  very  next  day,  New  Hampshire,  which  had 
formed  a  new  government  as  long  ago  as  January,  joined 
Connecticut  in  declaring  for  independence. 

In  New  Jersey  there  was  a  sharp  dispute.     The  royal 


1776  INDEPENDENCE  197 

governor,  William  Franklin,  had  a  strong  party  in  the  col- 
ony ;  the  assembly  had  lately  instructed  its  dele-  New  jer. 
gates  to  vote  against  independence,  and  had  resolved  sey 
to  send  a  separate  petition  to  the  king.  Against  so  rash, 
and  dangerous  a  step,  Dickinson,  Jay,  and  Wythe  were  sent 
by  Congress  to  remonstrate ;  and  as  the  result  of  their 
intercession,  the  assembly,  which  yielded,  was  summarily 
prorogued  by  the  governor.  A  provincial  congress  was  at 
once  chosen  in  its  stead.  On  the  16th  of  June,  the  governor 
was  arrested  and  sent  to  Connecticut  for  safe-keeping ;  on 
the  2 1  st,  it  was  voted  to  frame  a  new  government ;  and  on 
the  22d,  a  new  set  of  delegates  were  elected  to  Congress, 
with  instructions  to  support  the  declaration  of  independence. 
In  Pennsylvania  there  was  hot  discussion,  for  the  whole 
strength  of  the  proprietary  government  was  thrown 
into  the  scale  against  independence.  Among  the  vania  and 
Quakers,  too,  there  was  a  strong  disposition  to 
avoid  an  armed  conflict  on  any  terms.  A  little  while  be- 
fore, they  had  held  a  convention,  in  which  it  was  resolved 
that  "the  setting  up  and  putting  down  kings  and  govern- 
ments is  God's  peculiar  prerogative,  for  causes  best  known 
to  himself,  and  that  it  is  not  our  business  to  have  any  hand 
or  contrivance  therein  ;  nor  to  be  busybodies  above  our 
station,  much  less  to  plot  and  contrive  the  ruin  or  overturn 
of  any  of  them,  but  to  pray  for  the  king  and  safety  of  our 
nation  and  good  of  all  men ;  that  we  may  lead  a  peaceable 
and  quiet  life  in  all  goodness  and  honesty,  under  the  govern- 
ment which  God  is  pleased  to  set  over  us.  May  we,  there- 
fore, firmly  unite  in  the  abhorrence  of  all  such  writings 
and  measures  as  evidence  a  desire  and  design  to  break 
off  a  happy  connection  we  have  hitherto  enjoyed  with  the 
kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  and  our  just  and  necessary  subor- 
dination to  the  king  and  those  who  are  lawfully  placed  in 
authority  under  him."  This  view  of  the  case  soon  met  with  a 
pithy  rejoinder  from  Samuel  Adams,  who,  with  a  quaint  use 
of  historical  examples,  proved  that,  as  the  rise  of  kings  and 
empires  is  part  of  God's  special  prerogative,  the  time  had  now 


198 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  IV 


come,  in  the  course  of  divine  providence,  for  the  setting  up 
of  an  independent  empire  in  the  western  hemisphere.  Six 
months  ago,  the  provincial  assembly  had  instructed  its  dele- 
gates to  oppose  independence ;  but  on  the  20th  of  May  a 


great  meeting  was  held  at  the  State  House,  at  which  more 
than  seven  thousand  people  were  present,  and  it  was  unani- 
mously resolved  that  this  act  of  the  assembly  "had  the 
dangerous  tendency  to  withdraw  this  province  from  that 
happy  union  with  the  other  colonies  which  we  consider  both 
our  glory  and  our  protection."  The  effect  of  this  resolution 
was  so  great  that  on  the  1 8th  of  June  a  convention  was  held 


1776 


INDEPENDENCE 


199 


Maryland 


to  decide  on  the  question  of  independence ;  and  after  six 
days  of  discussion,  it  was  voted  that  a  separation  from  Great 
Britain  was  desirable,  provided  only  that,  under  the  new 
federal  government,  each  state  should  be  left  to  regulate  its 
own  internal  affairs.  On  the  14th  of  June,  a  similar  action 
had  been  taken  by  Delaware. 

In  Maryland  there  was  little  reason  why  the  people  should 
wish  for  a  change  of  government,  save  through  their  hon- 
ourable sympathy  with  the  general  interests  of  the 
United  Colonies.  Not  only  was  the  proprietary  gov- 
ernment deeply  rooted  in  the  affections  of  the  people,  but 
Robert  Eden,  the  governor  holding  office  at  this  particular 
time,  was  greatly  loved  and  respected.  Maryland  had  not 
been  insulted  by  the  pres- 
ence of  troops.  She  had 
not  seen  her  citizens  shot 
down  in  cold  blood  like 
Massachusetts,  or  her  chief 
city  laid  in  ashes  like  Vir- 
ginia; nor  had  she  been 
threatened  with  invasion 
and  forced  to  fight  in  her 
own  defence  like  North 
Carolina.  Her  direct  griev- 
ances were  few  and  light, 
and  even  so  late  as  the  21st 
of  May,  she  had  protested 
against  any  action  which 
might  lead  to  the  separa- 
tion of  the  colonies  from 
England.  But  when,  in 
June,  her  great  leaders, 
Samuel  Chase  and  Charles 
Carroll  of  Carrollton,  de- 
termined to  "take  the  sense  of  the  people,"  a  series  of 
county  meetings  were  held,  and  it  was  unanimously  voted 
that   "the  true  interests  and  substantial  happiness  of  the 


200  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 

United  Colonies  in  general,  and  this  in  particular,  are  insep- 
arably interwoven  and  linked  together."  As  soon  as  the 
colony  had  taken  its  stand  upon  this  broad  and  generous 
principle,  the  governor  embarked  on  a  British  man-of-war 
before  Annapolis,  bearing  with  him  the  kindly  regrets  and 
adieus  of  the  people,  and  on  the  28th  of  June  the  delegates 
in  Congress  were  duly  authorized  to  concur  in  a  declaration 
of  independence. 

Peaceful  Maryland  was  thus  the  twelfth  colony  which 
formally  committed  itself  to  the  cause  of  independence,  as 
turbulent  North  Carolina,  under  the  stimulus  of  civil  war 
and  threatened  invasion,  had  been  the  first.  Accordingly 
on  the  1st  of  July,  the  day  when  the  motion  of  Richard 
Henry  Lee  was  to  be  taken  up  in  Congress,  unanimous  in- 
structions in  favour  of  independence  had  been  received  from 
The  situa-  eveiT  one  °*  tne  colonies,  except  New  York.  In 
tioninNew  approaching  this  momentous  question  New  York 
was  beset  by  peculiar  difficulties.  Not  only  was 
the  Tory  party  unusually  strong  there,  for  reasons  already 
stated,  but  the  risks  involved  in  a  revolutionary  policy  were 
greater  than  anywhere  else.  From  its  commanding  military 
position,  it  was  clear  that  the  British  would  direct  their  main 
efforts  toward  the  conquest  of  this  central  colony  ;  and  while 
on  the  one  hand  the  broad,  deep  waters  about  Manhattan 
Island  afforded  an  easy  entrance  for  their  resistless  fleet, 
on  the  other  hand  the  failure  of  the  Canadian  expedition 
had  laid  the  whole  country  open  to  invasion  from  the  north, 
and  the  bloodthirsty  warriors  of  the  Long  House  were  not 
likely  to  let  slip  so  fair  an  opportunity  for  gathering  scalps 
from  the  exposed  settlements  on  the  frontier.  Not  only  was 
it  probable,  for  these  reasons,  that  New  York  would  suffer 
more  than  any  other  colony  from  the  worst  horrors  of  war, 
but  as  a  commercial  state  with  only  a  single  seaport,  the 
very  sources  of  her  life  would  be  threatened  should  the 
British  once  gain  a  foothold  upon  Manhattan  Island.  The 
fleet  of  Lord  Howe  was  daily  expected  in  the  harbour,  and 
it  was  known  that  the  army  which  had  been  ousted  from 


The  Declaration  of  Independence 


1776  INDEPENDENCE  201 

Boston,  now  largely  reinforced,  was  on  its  way  from  Halifax 
to  undertake  the  capture  of  the  city  of  New  York.  To 
guard  against  this  expected  danger,  Washington  had  some 
weeks  since  moved  his  army  thither  from  Boston ;  but  his 
whole  effective  force  did  not  exceed  eight  thousand  men, 
and  with  these  he  was  obliged  to  garrison  points  so  far  apart 
as  King's  Bridge,  Paulus  Hook,  Governor's  Island,  and 
Brooklyn  Heights.  The  position  was  far  less  secure  than  it 
had  been  about  Boston,  for  British  ships  could  here  come 
up  the  Hudson  and  East  rivers,  and  interpose  between  these 
isolated  detachments.  As  for  Staten  Island,  Washington 
had  not  troops  enough  to  occupy  it  at  all,  so  that  when  Gen- 
eral Howe  arrived,  on  the  28th  of  June,  he  was  allowed  to 
land  there  without  opposition.  It  was  a  bitter  thing  for 
Washington  to  be  obliged  to  permit  this,  but  there  was  no 
help  for  it.  Not  only  in  numbers,  but  in  equipment,  Wash- 
ington's force  was  utterly  inadequate  to  the  important  task 
assigned  it,  and  Congress  had  done  nothing  to  increase  its 
efficiency  beyond  ordering  a  levy  of  twenty-five  thousand 
militia  from  New  England  and  the  middle  colonies,  to  serve 
for  six  months  only. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  military  outlook,  in  case 
the  war  were  to  go  on,  was  certainly  not  encouraging,  and 
the  people  of  New  York  might  well  be  excused  for  some 
tardiness  in  committing  themselves  irrevocably  on  the  ques- 
tion of  independence,  especially  as  it  was  generally  under- 
stood that  Lord  Howe  was  coming  armed  with  plenary 
authority  to  negotiate  with  the  American  people.  To  all 
the  other  dangers  of  the  situation  there  was  added 

aa  r  ?  ^  TheTryon 

that  ot  treachery  in  the  camp.  Governor  Tryon,  plot,  June, 
like  so  many  of  the  royal  governors  that  year,  had  *779 
taken  refuge  on  shipboard,  whence  he  schemed  and  plotted 
with  his  friends  on  shore.  A  plan  was  devised  for  blowing 
up  the  magazines  and  seizing  Washington,  who  was  either 
to  be  murdered  or  carried  on  board  ship  to  be  tried  for 
treason,  according  as  the  occasion  might  suggest.  The 
conspiracy  was  discovered  in  good  time  ;  the  mayor  of  New 


202  THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 

York,  convicted  of  correspondence  with  Tryon,  was  thrown 
into  jail,  and  one  of  Washington's  own  guard,  who  had  been 
bribed  to  aid  the  nefarious  scheme,  was  summarily  hanged 
in  a  field  near  the  Bowery.  Such  a  discovery  as  this  served 
to  throw  discredit  upon  the  Tory  party.  The  patriots  took 
a  bolder  stand  than  ever,  but  when  the  ist  of  July  came  it 
found  the  discussion  still  going  on,  and  the  New  York 
delegates  in  Congress  were  still  without  instructions. 

On  the  i  st  of  July  Congress  resolved  itself  into  a  com- 
mittee of  the  whole,  to  "  take  into  consideration  the  resolu- 
tion respecting  independency."  As  Richard  Henry  Lee 
was  absent,  John  Adams,  who  had  seconded  the  motion, 
was  called  upon  to  defend  it,  which  he  did  in  a  powerful 
speech.  He  was  ably  opposed  by  John  Dickinson,  who 
urged  that  the  country  ought  not  to  be  rashly  committed 
Final  to  a  position,  to  recede  from  which  would  be  infa- 

Lebe^eon  mous,  while  to  persist  in  it  might  entail  certain 
motion  rujn>  a  declaration  of  independence  would  not 
strengthen  the  resources  of  the  country  by  a  single  regi- 
ment or  a  single  cask  of  powder,  while  it  would  shut  the  door 
upon  all  hope  of  accommodation  with  Great  Britain.  And 
as  to  the  prospect  of  an  alliance  with  France  and  Spain, 
would  it  not  be  well  to  obtain  some  definite  assurances  from 
these  powers  before  proceeding  to  extremities  ?  Besides  all 
this,  argued  Dickinson,  the  terms  of  confederation  among 
the  colonies  were  still  unsettled,  and  any  declaration  of 
independence,  to  have  due  weight  with  the  world,  ought  to 
be  preceded  by  the  establishment  of  a  federal  government. 
The  boundaries  of  the  several  colonies  ought  first  to  be 
fixed,  and  their  respective  rights  mutually  guaranteed ;  and 
the  public  lands  ought  also  to  be  solemnly  appropriated  for 
the  common  benefit.  Then,  the  orator  concluded,  "when 
things  shall  have  been  thus  deliberately  rendered  firm  at 
home  and  favourable  abroad,  —  then  let  America,  attollens 
humeris  f amain  et  fata  nepotum,  bearing  up  her  glory  and 
the  destiny  of  her  descendants,  advance  with  majestic  steps, 
and  assume  her  station  among  the  sovereigns  of  the  world." 


1776  INDEPENDENCE  203 

That  there  was  great  weight  in  some  of  these  considera- 
tions was  shown  only  too  plainly  by  subsequent  events. 
But  the  argument  as  a  whole  was  open  to  the  fatal  objec- 
tion that  if  the  American  people  were  to  wait  for  all  these 
great  questions  to  be  settled  before  taking  a  decisive  step, 
they  would  never  be  able  to  take  a  decisive  step  at  all.  The 
wise  statesman  regards  half  a  loaf  as  better  than  no  bread. 


GcLss-n^d  #«Jtc^jxZ7 


Independent  action  on  the  part  of  all  the  colonies  except 
New  York   had  now  become   an  accomplished   fact.     All 
were  really  in  rebellion,  and  their  cause  could  not  fail  to 
gain  in  dignity  and  strength  by  announcing  itself  to  the 
world  in  its  true  character.     Such  was  now  the  general  feel- 
ing of  the  committee.     When  the  question  was  put  to  vote, 
the  New  York  delegates  were  excused,   as  they   Voteon 
had  no  sufficient  instructions.     Of  the  three  dele-   Lee's 
gates  from  Delaware,  one  was  absent,  one  voted 
yea,  and  one  nay,  so  that  the  vote  of  the  colony  was  lost. 
Pennsylvania  declared  in  the  negative  by  four  votes  against 


204  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  iv 

three.  South  Carolina  also  declared  in  the  negative,  but 
with  the  intimation  from  Edward  Rutledge  that  it  might 
not  unlikely  reverse  its  vote,  in  deference  to  the  majority. 
The  other  nine  colonies  all  voted  in  the  affirmative,  and  the 
resolution  was  reported  as  agreed  to  by  a  two  thirds  vote. 
On  the  next  day,  when  the  vote  was  formally  taken  in 
regular  session  of  Congress,  the  Delaware  members  were 
all  present,  and  the  affirmative  vote  of  that  colony  was 
secured ;  Dickinson  and  Morris  stayed  away,  thus  reversing 
the  vote  of  Pennsylvania ;  and  the  South  Carolina  members 
changed  for  the  sake  of  unanimity. 

Thus  was  the  Declaration  of  Independence  at  last  resolved 
upon,  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  twelve  colonies,  on  the  2d 
of  July,  1776;  and  this  work  having  been  done,  Congress 
at  once  went  into  committee  of  the  whole,  to  consider  the 
form  of  declaration  which  should  be  adopted.  That  no  time 
might  be  lost  in  disposing  of  this  important  matter,  a  com- 
mittee had  already  been  selected  three  weeks  before,  at  the 
time  of  Lee's  motion,  to  draw  up  a  paper  which  might  be 
worthy  of  this  great  and  solemn  occasion.  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son, John  Adams,  Benjamin  Franklin,  Roger  Sherman,  and 
Robert  Livingston  were  the  members  of  the  committee, 
and  Jefferson,  as  representing  the  colony  which  had  intro- 
duced the  resolution  of  independence,  was  chosen  to  be  the 
author  of  the  Declaration.  Jefferson,  then  but  thirty-three 
years  of  age,  was  one  of  the  youngest  delegates  in  Con- 
gress ;  but  of  all  the  men  of  that  time,  there  was,  perhaps, 
Thomas  none  of  wider  culture  or  keener  political  instincts. 
Jefferson  Inheriting  a  comfortable  fortune,  he  had  chosen 
the  law  as  his  profession,  but  he  had  always  been  passion- 
ately fond  of  study  for  its  own  sake,  and  to  a  wide  read- 
ing in  history  and  in  ancient  and  modern  literature  he 
added  no  mean  proficiency  in  mathematics  and  in  physical 
science.  He  was  skilled  in  horsemanship  and  other  manly 
exercises,  and  in  the  management  of  rural  affairs ;  while 
at  the  same  time  he  was  sensitively  and  delicately  organ- 
ized, playing  the  violin  like  a  master,  and  giving  other  evi- 


1776  INDEPENDENCE  205 

dences  of  rare  musical  talent.  His  temper  was  exceedingly 
placid,  and  his  disposition  was  sweet  and  sympathetic.  He 
was  deeply  interested  in  all  the  generous  theories  of  the 
eighteenth  century  concerning  the  rights  of  man  and  the 
perfectibility  of  human  nature ;  and,  like  most  of  the  con- 
temporary philosophers  whom  he  admired,  he  was  a  sturdy 
foe  to  intolerance  and  priestcraft.  He  was  in  his  way  a 
much  more  profound  thinker  than  Hamilton,  though  he  had 
not  such  a  constructive  genius  as  the  latter ;  as  a  political 
leader  he  was  superior  to  any  other  man  of  his  age ;  and  his 
warm  sympathies,  his  almost  feminine  tact,  his  mastery  of 
the  dominant  political  ideas  of  the  time,  and,  above  all,  his 
unbounded  faith  in  the  common-sense  of  the  people  and  in 
their  essential  rectitude  of  purpose  served  to  give  him  one 
of  the  greatest  and  most  commanding  positions  ever  held 
by  any  personage  in  American  history. 

On  the  evening  of  the  4th  of  July,  1776,  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  was  unanimously  adopted  by  twelve 
colonies,  the  delegation  from  New  York  still  remaining 
unable  to  act.  But  the  acquiescence  of  that  colony  was  so 
generally  counted  upon  that  there  was  no  drawback  to  the 
exultation  of  the  people.  All  over  the  country  independ- 
the  Declaration  was  received  with  bonfires,  with  ^Sdjuly 
the  ringing  of  bells  and  the  firing  of  guns,  and  4, 1776 
with  torchlight  processions.  Now  that  the  great  question 
was  settled  there  was  a  general  feeling  of  relief.  "  The  peo- 
ple," said  Samuel  Adams,  "seem  to  recognize  this  resolu- 
tion as  though  it  were  a  decree  promulgated  from  heaven." 
On  the  9th  of  July  it  was  formally  adopted  by  New  York, 
and  the  soldiers  there  celebrated  the  occasion  by  throwing 
down  the  leaden  statue  of  George  III.  on  the  Bowling  Green, 
and  casting  it  into  bullets. 

Thus,  after  eleven  years  of  irritation,  and  after  such  tem- 
perate discussion  as  befitted  a  free  people,  the  Americans 
had  at  last  entered  upon  the  only  course  that  could  preserve 
their  self-respect,  and  guarantee  them  in  the  great  part 
which  they  had  to  play  in  the  drama  of  civilization.    For  the 


206 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  IV 


BATTERY   AND    BOWLING    GREEN    IN    1 776 


The  Decla- 
ration was 
a  deliberate 
expression 
of  the  sober 
thought  of 
the  Ameri- 
can people 


dignity,  patience,  and  moderation  with  which  they  had  borne 
themselves  throughout  these  trying  times,  history 
had  as  yet  scarcely  afforded  a  parallel.  So  extreme 
had  been  their  forbearance,  so  great  their  unwill- 
ingness to  appeal  to  brute  force  while  there  yet 
remained  the  slightest  hope  of  a  peaceful  solution, 
that  some  British  historians  have  gone  quite  astray 
in  interpreting  their  conduct.  Because  statesmen  like  Dick- 
inson and  communities  like  Maryland  were  slow  in  believing 
that  the  right  moment  for  a  declaration  of  independence  had 
come,  the  preposterous  theory  has  been  suggested  that  the 
American  Revolution  was  the  work  of  an  unscrupulous  and 
desperate  minority,  which,  through  intrigue  mingled  with 
violence,  succeeded  in  forcing  the  reluctant  majority  to 
sanction  its  measures.  Such  a  misconception  has  its  root 
in  an  utter  failure  to  comprehend  the  peculiar  character  of 
American  political  life,  like  the  kindred  misconception  which 
ascribes  the  rebellion  of  the  colonies  to  a  sordid  unwilling- 
ness to  bear  their  due  share  of  the  expenses  of  the  British 
Empire.  It  is  like  the  misunderstanding  which  saw  an 
angry  mob  in  every  town  meeting  of  the  people  of  Boston, 
and  characterized  as  a  "riot"  every  deliberate  expression  of 


1776  INDEPENDENCE  207 

public  opinion.  No  one  who  is  familiar  with  the  essential 
features  of  American  political  life  can  for  a  moment  suppose 
that  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  brought  about  by 
any  less  weighty  force  than  the  settled  conviction  of  the  peo- 
ple that  the  priceless  treasure  of  self-government  could  be 
preserved  by  no  other  means.  It  was  but  slowly  that  this 
unwelcome  conviction  grew  upon  the  people ;  and  owing  to 
local  differences  of  circumstances  it  grew  more  slowly  in 
some  places  than  in  others.  Prescient  leaders,  too,  like  the 
Adamses  and  Franklin  and  Lee,  made  up  their  minds  sooner 
than  other  people.  Even  those  conservatives  who  resisted 
to  the  last,  even  such  men  as  John  Dickinson  and  Robert 
Morris,  were  fully  agreed  with  their  opponents  as  to  the 
principle  at  issue  between  Great  Britain  and  America,  and 
nothing  would  have  satisfied  them  short  of  the  total  aban- 
donment by  Great  Britain  of  her  pretensions  to  impose  taxes 
and  revoke  charters.  Upon  this  fundamental  point  there 
was  very  little  difference  of  opinion  in  America.  As  to  the 
related  question  of  independence,  the  decision,  when  once 
reached,  was  everywhere  alike  the  reasonable  result  of  free 
and  open  discussion  ;  and  the  best  possible  illustration  of 
this  is  the  fact  that  not  even  in  the  darkest  days  of  the  war 
already  begun  did  any  state  deliberately  propose  to  recon- 
sider its  action  in  the  matter.  The  hand  once  put  to  the 
plough,  there  was  no  turning  back.  As  Judge  Drayton  of 
South  Carolina  said  from  the  bench,  "  A  decree  is  now  gone 
forth  not  to  be  recalled,  and  thus  has  suddenly  risen  in  the 
world  a  new  empire,  styled  the  United  States  of  America." 


CHAPTER   V 

FIRST    BLOW    AT    THE    CENTRE 

Throughout  a  considerable  portion  of  the  country  the 
news  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  accompanied 
by  the  news  of  a  brilliant  success  at  the  South.  After  the 
defeat  of  Macdonald  at  Moore's  Creek,  and  the  sudden  arm- 
ing of  North  Carolina,  Clinton  did  not  venture  to  land,  but 
cruised  about  in  the  neighbourhood,  awaiting  the  arrival  of 
Sir  Peter  Parker's  squadron  from  Ireland.  Harassed  by 
violent  and  contrary  winds,  Parker  was  three  months  in 
Lord  Com-  making  the  voyage,  and  it  was  not  until  May  that 
rivefimon  ne  arr*ived,  bringing  with  him  Lord  Cornwallis. 
the  scene  As  North  Carolina  had  given  such  unmistakable 
evidence  of  its  real  temper,  it  was  decided  not  to  land  upon 
that  coast  for  the  present,  but  to  go  south  and  capture 
Charleston  and  Savannah.  Lord  William  Campbell,  refugee 
governor  of  South  Carolina,  urged  that  there  was  a  great 
loyalist  party  in  that  colony,  which  would  declare  itself  as 
soon  as  the  chief  city  should  be  in  the  hands  of  the  king's 
troops.  That  there  would  be  any  serious  difficulty  in  taking 
Charleston  occurred  to  no  one.  But  Colonel  Moultrie  had 
thrown  up  on  Sullivan's  Island,  commanding  the  harbour,  a 
fortress  of  palmetto  logs  strengthened  by  heavy  banks  of 
sand,  and  now  held  it  with  a  force  of  twelve  hundred  men, 
while  five  thousand  militia  were  gathered  about  the  town, 
under  command  of  General  Charles  Lee,  who  had  been  sent 
down  to  meet  the  emergency,  but  did  little  more  than  to 
meddle  and  hinder.  In  his  character  of  trained  European 
officer,  Lee  laughed  to  scorn  Moultrie's  palmetto  strong- 
hold, and  would  have  ordered  him  to  abandon  it,  but  that 
he  was  positively  overruled  by  John  Rutledge,  president  of 


1776 


FIRST   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE 


209 


the  provincial  congress,  who  knew  Moultrie  and  relied  upon 
his  sound  judgment.  The  British  commanders,  Clinton  and 
Parker,  wasted  three  weeks  in  discussing  various  plans  of 
attack,  while  the  Americans,  with  spade  and  hatchet,  were 


rapidly  barring  every  approach  to  Charleston,  and  fresh 
regiments  came  pouring  in  to  man  the  new-built  Battle  of 
intrenchments.  At  last  Clinton  landed  three  thou-  £^  iJSe1" 
sand  men  on  a  naked  sand-bank,  divided  from  28> T?76 
Sullivan's  Island  by  a  short  space  of  shallow  sea,  which  he 
thought  could  be  forded  at  low  tide.  At  the  proper  time 
Sir  Peter  Parker  was  to  open  a  lively  fire  from  the  fleet, 


2IO 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  V 


which  it  was  expected  would  knock  down  the  fort  in  a  few 
minutes,  while  Clinton,  fording  the  shoals,  would  drive  out 
the  Americans  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  The  shoals, 
however,  turned  out  to  be  seven  feet  deep  at  low  water,  and 
the  task  of  the  infantry  was  reduced  to  a  desperate  conflict 


with  the  swarms  of  mosquitoes,  which  nearly  drove  them 
frantic.  The  battle  thus  became  a  mere  artillery  duel  be- 
tween the  fort  and  the  fleet.  The  British  fire  was  rapid 
and  furious,  but  ineffective.  Most  of  the  shot  passed  harm- 
lessly over  the  low  fortress,  and  those  which  struck  did  no 
harm  to  its  elastic  structure.  The  American  fire  was  very 
slow,  and  few  shots  were  wasted.     The  cable  of  Parker's 


776 


FIRST   BLOW  AT   THE    CENTRE 


211 


flagship  was  cut  by  a  well-aimed  ball,  and  the  ship,  swinging 
around,  received  a  raking  fire  which  swept  her  deck  with 
terrible  slaughter.  After  the  fight  had  lasted  ten  hours, 
the  British  retreated  out  of  range.  The  palmetto  fort  had 
suffered  no  serious  injury,  and  only  one  gun  had  been 
silenced.  The  American  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  was 
thirty-seven.  On  the  other  hand,  Sir  Peter's  flagship  had 
lost  her  mainmast  and  mizzen-mast,  and  had  some  twenty 
shots  in  her  hull,  so  that  she  was  little  better  than  a  wreck. 
The  British  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  was  two  hundred 
and  five.  Of  their  ten  sail,  only  one  frigate  remained  sea- 
worthy at  the  close  of  the  action.  After  waiting  three 
weeks  to  refit,  the  whole  expedition  sailed  away  for  New 
York  to  cooperate  with  the  Howes.  Charleston  was  saved, 
and  for  more  than  two  years  the  southern  states  were  freed 


Ct*.1fK*XMAr*ry. 
\£-9  Island, 
ftiril  at  bu-  JK/e 


•*«■>«•»  SShA 


BATTLE   OF   FORT   MOULTRIE,  JUNE   28,    1 776 


212  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  v 

from  the  invader.  In  commemoration  of  this  brilliant  vic- 
tory, and  of  the  novel  stronghold  which  had  so  roused  the 
mirth  of  the  European  soldier  of  fortune,  the  outpost  on 
Sullivan's  Island  has  ever  since  been  known  by  the  name  of 
Fort  Moultrie. 

It  was  with  such  tidings  of  good  omen  that  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  was  sent  forth  to  the  world.  But  it 
was  the  last  news  of  victory  that  for  the  next  six  months 
was  to  cheer  the  anxious  statesmen  assembled  at  Philadel- 
phia. During  the  rest  of  the  summer  and  the  autumn, 
disaster  followed  upon  disaster,  until  it  might  well  seem  as 
if  fickle  fortune  had  ceased  to  smile  upon  the  cause  of 
liberty.  The  issue  of  the  contest  was  now  centred  in  New 
British  York.  By  conquering  and  holding  the  line  of  the 
wnquering  Hudson  river,  the  British  hoped  to  cut  the  United 
the  Hud-      Colonies  in  two,  after  which  it  was  thought  that 

son  and  ° 

cutting  the  Virginia  and  New  England,  isolated  from  each 
Colonies  other,  might  be  induced  to  consider  the  error  of 
in  twain  their  ways  and  repent.  Accordingly,  General 
Howe  was  to  capture  the  city  of  New  York,  while  General 
Carleton  was  to  descend  from  Canada,  recapture  Ticonder- 
oga,  and  take  possession  of  the  upper  waters  of  the  Hud- 
son, together  with  the  Mohawk  valley.  Great  hopes  were 
built  upon  the  cooperation  of  the  loyalists,  of  whom  there 
was  a  greater  number  in  New  York  than  in  any  other  state, 
except  perhaps  South  Carolina.  It  was  partly  for  this  rea- 
son, as  we  shall  hereafter  see,  that  these  two  states  suffered 
more  actual  misery  from  the  war  than  all  the  others  put 
together.  The  horrors  of  civil  war  were  to  be  added  to  the 
attack  of  the  invader.  Throughout  the  Mohawk  valley  the 
influence  of  Sir  John  Johnson,  the  Tory  son  of  the  famous 
baronet  of  the  Seven  Years'  War,  was  thought  to  be 
supreme ;  and  it  turned  out  to  be  very  powerful  both  with 
the  white  population  and  with  the  Indians.  At  the  other 
end  of  the  line,  in  New  York  city,  the  Tory  element  was 
strong,  for  reasons  already  set  forth.  On  Long  Island,  the 
people  of  Kings  and  Queens  counties,  of  Dutch  descent, 


1776  FIRST   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE  213 

were  Tories  almost  to  a  man,  while  the  English  population 
of  Suffolk  was  solidly  in  favour  of  independence. 

Before  beginning  his  attack  on  New  York,  General  Howe 
had  to  await  the  arrival  of  his  brother ;  for  the  ministry  had 
resolved  to  try  the  effect  of  what  seemed  to  them  a  "  con- 
ciliatory policy."     On  the  12th  of  July  Lord  Howe  arrived 
at  Stat  en  Island,  bringing  with  him  the  "  olive-branch  "  which 
Lord  North  had  promised  to  send  along  with  the  sword. 
This  curious  specimen  of  political  botany  turned  out  to  con- 
sist  of  a  gracious  declaration  that  all  persons  who  should 
desist  from  rebellion  and  lend  their  "  aid  in  restoring  tran- 
quillity" would  receive  full  and  free  pardon  from 
their  sovereign  lord  the  king.     As  it  would  not  do   Howe's 
to  recognize  the  existence  of  Congress,  Lord  Howe   temptto 
inclosed  this  declaration  in  a  letter  addressed  to   ^g^te 

with  Wash- 

"  George  Washington,  Esq.,"  and  sent  it  up  the   ington 

1       1  •  1  n  r  -r.  s-%  unofficially 

harbour  with  a  nag  of  truce.  But  as  George 
Washington,  in  his  capacity  of  Virginian  landholder  and 
American  citizen,  had  no  authority  for  dealing  with  a  royal 
commissioner,  he  refused  to  receive  the  letter.  Colonel 
Reed  informed  Lord  Howe's  messenger  that  there  was  no 
person  in  the  army  with  that  address.  The  British  officer 
reluctantly  rowed  away,  but  suddenly,  putting  his  barge 
about,  he  came  back  and  inquired  by  what  title  Washington 
should  be  properly  addressed.  Colonel  Reed  replied,  "  You 
are  aware,  sir,  of  the  rank  of  General  Washington  in  our 
army?"  "Yes,  sir,  we  are,"  answered  the  officer;  "I  am 
sure  my  Lord  Howe  will  lament  exceedingly  this  affair,  as 
the  letter  is  of  a  civil,  and  not  of  a  military  nature.  He 
greatly  laments  that  he  was  not  here  a  little  sooner."  This 
remark  was  understood  by  Colonel  Reed  to  refer  to  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  which  was  then  but  eight 
days  old.  A  week  later  Lord  Howe  sent  Colonel  Patterson, 
the  British  adjutant-general,  with  a  document  now  addressed 
to  "  George  Washington,  Esq.,  etc.,  etc."  Colonel  Patter- 
son begged  for  a  personal  interview,  which  was  granted. 
He  was  introduced  to  Washington,  whom  he  describes  as  a 


214  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  v 

gentleman  of  magnificent  presence  and  very  handsomely 
dressed.  Somewhat  overawed,  and  beginning  his  remarks 
with  "May  it  please  your  Excellency,"  Patterson  explained 
that  the  etceteras  on  the  letter  meant  everything.  "In- 
deed," said  Washington,  with  a  pleasant  smile,  "they  might 
mean  anything."  He  declined  to  take  the  letter,  but  listened 
to  Patterson's  explanations,  and  then  replied  that  he  was 
not  authorized  to  deal  with  the  matter,  and  could  not  give 
his  lordship  any  encouragement,  as  he  seemed  empowered 
only  to  grant  pardons,  whereas  those  who  had  committed 
no  fault  needed  no  pardons.  As  Patterson  got  up  to  go,  he 
asked  if  his  Excellency  had  no  message  to  send  to  Lord 
Howe.  "Nothing,"  answered  Washington,  "but  my  par- 
ticular compliments."  Thus  foiled  in  his  attempt  to  nego- 
tiate with  the  American  commander,  Lord  Howe  next 
inclosed  his  declaration  in  a  circular  letter  addressed  to  the 
royal  governors  of  the  middle  and  southern  colonies ;  but  as 
most  of  these  dignitaries  were  either  in  jail  or  on  board  the 
British  fleet,  not  much  was  to  be  expected  from  such  a 
mode  of  publication.  The  precious  document  was  captured 
and  sent  to  Congress,  which  derisively  published  it  for  the 
amusement  and  instruction  of  the  people.  It  was  every- 
where greeted  with  jeers.  "No  doubt  we  all  need  pardon 
from  Heaven,"  said  Governor  Trumbull  of  Connecticut, 
"  for  our  manifold  sins  and  transgressions  ;  but  the  Ameri- 
can who  needs  the  pardon  of  his  Britannic  Majesty  is  yet  to 
be  found."  The  only  serious  effect  produced  was  the  weak- 
ening of  the  loyalist  party.  Many  who  had  thus  far  been 
held  back  by  the  hope  that  Lord  Howe's  intercession  might 
settle  all  the  difficulties,  now  came  forward  as  warm  sup- 
porters of  independence  as  soon  as  it  became  apparent  that 
the  king  had  really  nothing  to  offer. 

The  olive-branch  having  proved  ineffectual,  nothing  was 
Themili-  left  but  to  unsheathe  the  sword,  and  an  interest- 
lem  atNew  *nS  campaign  now  began,  of  which  the  primary  ob- 
York  ject  was  to  capture  the  city  of  New  York  and  com- 

pel Washington's  army  to  surrender.     The  British  army  was 


1776 


FIRST   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE 


215 


heavily  reinforced  by  the  return  of  Clinton's  expedition  and 
the  arrival  of  11,000  fresh  troops  from  England  and  Ger- 
many. General  Howe  had  now  more  than  25,000  men  at 
his  disposal,  fully  equipped  and  disciplined ;  while  to  oppose 
him  Washington  had  but  18,000,  many  of  them  raw  levies 


^7^;  ^^^^6^:1 


which  had  just  come  in.     If  the  American  army  had  con- 
sisted of  such  veterans  as  Washington  afterwards  led  at 

1  Jonathan  Trumbull,  Governor  of  Connecticut,  was  a  graduate  of 
Harvard  in  1737,  in  the  same  class  with  Hutchinson.  Washington 
used  to  call  him  "  Brother  Jonathan."  He  was  father  of  John  Trum- 
bull, the  famous  painter. 


216  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  v 

Monmouth,  the  disparity  of  numbers  would  still  have  told 
powerfully  in  favour  of  the  British.  As  it  was,  in  view  of 
the  crudeness  of  his  material,  Washington  could  hardly  hope 
to  do  more  with  his  army  than  to  make  it  play  the  part  of  a 
detaining  force.  To  keep  the  field  in  the  face  of  over- 
whelming odds  is  one  of  the  most  arduous  of  military  prob- 
lems, and  often  calls  for  a  higher  order  of  intelligence  than 
that  which  is  displayed  in  the  mere  winning  of  battles. 
Upon  this  problem  Washington  was  now  to  be  employed 
for  six  months  without  respite,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
he  gave  evidence  of  military  genius  such  as  has  seldom  been 
surpassed  in  the  history  of  modern  warfare.  At  the  outset 
the  city  of  New  York  furnished  the  kernel  of  the  problem. 
Without  control  of  the  water  it  would  be  well-nigh  impossi- 
ble to  hold  the  city.  Still  there  was  a  chance,  and  it  was 
the  part  of  a  good  general  to  take  this  chance,  and  cut  out 
as  much  work  as  possible  for  the  enemy.  The  shore  of 
Manhattan  Island  was  girded  with  small  forts  and  redoubts, 
which  Lee  had  erected  in  the  spring  before  his  departure 
for  South  Carolina.  The  lower  end  of  the  island,  along  the 
line  of  Wall  Street,  was  then  but  little  more  than  half  its 
present  width,  as  several  lines  of  street  have  since  been 
added  upon  both  sides.  From  Cortlandt  Street  across  to 
Paulus  Hook,  the  width  of  the  Hudson  river  was  not  less 
than  two  miles,  while  the  East  river  near  Fulton  Ferry  was 
nearly  a  mile  in  width.  The  city  reached  only  from  the 
Battery  as  far  as  Chatham  Street,  whence  the  Bowery  Lane 
ran  northwestwardly  to  Bloomingdale  through  a  country 
smiling  with  orchards  and  gardens.  Many  of  the  streets 
were  now  barricaded,  and  a  strong  line  of  redoubts  ran 
across  from  river  to  river  below  the  side  of  Canal  Street. 
At  the  upper  end  of  the  island,  and  on  the  Jersey  shore, 
were  other  fortresses,  with  which  we  shall  shortly  have  to 
deal,  and  out  in  the  harbour,  as  a  sort  of  watch-tower  from 
which  to  inspect  the  enemy's  fleet,  a  redoubt  had  been 
raised  on  Governor's  Island,  and  was  commanded  by  Col- 
onel Prescott,  with  a  party  of  the  men  of  Bunker  Hill. 


1776 


FIRST   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE 


217 


VIEW  OF   NEW  YORK   IN    17761 


In  order  to  garrison  such  various  positions,  it  was  neces- 
sary for  Washington  to  scatter  his  18,000  men;  and  this 
added  much  to  the  difficulty  of  his  task,  for  Howe  could  at 
any  moment  strike  at  almost  any  one  of  these  points  with 
his  whole  force.  From  the  nature  of  the  case  the  immense 
advantage  of  the  initiative  belonged  entirely  to  Howe.  But 
in  one  quarter,  the  most  important  of  all,  Washington  had 
effected  as  much  concentration  of  his  troops  as  importance 
was  possible.  The  position  on  Brooklyn  Heights  °ynBrook' 
was  dangerously  exposed,  but  it  was  absolutely  Heights 
necessary  for  the  Americans  to  occupy  it  if  they  were  to 
keep  their  hold  upon  New  York.  This  eminence  com- 
manded New  York  exactly  as  Bunker  Hill  and  Dorchester 
Heights  commanded  Boston.  Greene  had,  accordingly, 
spent  the  summer  in  fortifying  it,  and  there  9,000  men  — 
one  half  of  the  army  —  were  now  concentrated  under  com- 

1  This  view  is  taken  from  the  Hudson  river,  and  shows  Fort  George 
at  the  extreme  right.  The  street  facing  upon  the  river  was  Greenwich 
Street,  from  which  the  descent  to  the  water  was  abrupt.  The  cliff-like 
look  of  the  banks  has  since  been  destroyed  by  the  addition  of  new  land 
sloping  gently  down  to  the  water  level  at  West  Street.  The  church 
most  conspicuous  in  the  picture  is  the  old  Trinity,  which  was  burned 
in  1776. 


218  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  v 

mand  of  Putnam.  Upon  this  exposed  position  General 
Howe  determined  to  throw  nearly  the  whole  of  his  force. 
He  felt  confident  that  the  capture  or  destruction  of  half  the 
American  army  would  so  discourage  the  rebels  as  to  make 
them  lend  a  readier  ear  to  the  overtures  of  that  excellent 
peacemaker,  his  brother.  Accordingly,  on  the  2  2d  of  Au- 
gust, General  Howe  landed  20,000  men  at  Gravesend  Bay. 
From  this  point  the  American  position  was  approachable  by 
four  roads,  two  of  which  crossed  a  range  of  densely  wooded 
hills,  and  continued  through  the  villages  of  Bedford  and 
Flatbush.  To  the  left  of  these  the  Gowanus  road  followed 
the  shore  about  the  western  base  of  the  hills,  while  on  the 
right  the  Jamaica  road  curved  inland  and  turned  their  east- 
ern base. 

The  elaborate  caution  with  which  the  British  commander 
now  proceeded  stands  out  in  striking  contrast  with  the 
temerity  of  his  advance  upon  Bunker  Hill  in  the  preceding 
year.  He  spent  four  days  in  reconnoitring,  and  then  he 
sent  his  brother,  with  part  of  the  fleet,  to  make  a  feint  upon 
New  York,  and  occupy  Washington's  attention.  Before 
daybreak  of  the  27th,  under  the  cover  of  this  feint,  the 
British  advance  had  been  nearly  completed.  General  Grant, 
with  the  Highland  regiments,  advanced  along  the  coast  road, 
where  the  American  outposts  were  held  by  William  Alexan- 
Battieof  der  of  New  Jersey,  commonly  known  as  Lord 
kndf  Aug.  Stirling,  from  a  lapsed  Scotch  earldom  to  which  he 
27>  J776  had  claimed  the  title.  The  Hessians,  under  Gen- 
eral von  Heister,  proceeded  along  the  Bedford  and  Flatbush 
roads,  which  were  defended  by  Sullivan ;  while  more  than 
half  of  the  army,  under  Howe  in  person,  accompanied  by 
Clinton,  Percy,  and  Cornwallis,  accomplished  a  long  night 
march  by  the  Jamaica  road,  in  order  to  take  the  Americans 
in  flank.  This  long  flanking  march  was  completed  in  per- 
fect secrecy  because  the  people  of  the  neighbourhood  were 
in  sympathy  with  the  British,  and  it  encountered  no  obsta- 
cles because  the  American  force  was  simply  incapable  of 
covering  so  much  territory.     The  divisions  of  Stirling  and 


BATTLE  OF  LONG  ISLAND 
August  27,  1776 


1776  FIRST   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE  219 

Sullivan  contained  the  5,000  men  which  were  all  that  Put- 
nam could  afford  to  send  forward  from  his  works.  A  patrol 
which  watched  the  Jamaica  road  was  captured  early  in  the 
morning,  but  it  would  not  in  any  case  have  been  possible  to 
send  any  force  there  which  could  materially  have  hindered 
the  British  advance.  Overwhelming  superiority  in  numbers 
enabled  the  British  to  go  where  they  pleased,  and  the  battle 
was  already  virtually  won  when  they  appeared  on  the  Jamaica 
road  in  the  rear  of  the  village  of  Bedford.  Scarcely  had  the 
fight  begun  on  the  crest  of  the  hill  between  Sullivan  and 
the  Hessians  in  his  front  when  he  found  himself  assaulted 
in  the  rear.  Thrown  into  confusion,  and  driven  back  and 
forth  through  the  woods  between  two  galling  fires,  his  divi- 
sion was  quickly  routed,  and  nearly  all  were  taken  prisoners, 
including  the  general  himself.  On  the  coast  road  the  fight 
between  Stirling  and  Grant  was  the  first  in  which  Americans 
had  ever  met  British  troops  in  open  field  and  in  regular  line 
of  battle.  Against  the  sturdy  Highland  regiments  Stirling 
held  his  ground  gallantly  for  four  hours,  until  he  was  in  turn 
assaulted  in  the  rear  by  Lord  Cornwallis,  after  the  rout  of 
Sullivan.  It  now  became,  with  Stirling,  simply  a  question 
of  saving  his  division  from  capture,  and  after  a  desperate 
fight  this  end  was  accomplished,  and  the  men  got  back  to 
Brooklyn  Heights,  though  the  brave  Stirling  himself  was 
taken  prisoner.  In  this  noble  struggle  the  highest  honours 
were  won  by  the  brigade  of  Maryland  men  commanded  by 
Smallwood,  and  throughout  the  war  we  shall  find  this  hon- 
ourable distinction  of  Maryland  for  the  personal  gallantry  of 
her  troops  fully  maintained,  until  in  the  last  pitched  battle, 
at  Eutaw  Springs,  we  see  them  driving  the  finest  infantry  of 
England  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet. 

The  defeat  of  Sullivan  and  Stirling  enabled  Howe  to 
bring  up  his  whole  army  in  front  of  the  works  at  Brooklyn 
Heights  toward  the  close  of  the  day.  To  complete  the 
victory  it  would  be  necessary  to  storm  these  works,  but 
Howe's  men  were  tired  with  marching,  if  not  with  fighting, 
and  so  the  incident  known  as  the  battle  of  Long  Island 


220  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  v 

came  to  an  end.  A  swift  ship  was  at  once  dispatched  to 
England  with  the  news  of  the  victory,  which  were  some- 
what highly  coloured.  It  was  for  a  while  supposed  that 
there  had  been  a  terrible  slaughter,  but  careful  research  has 
shown  that  this  was  not  the  case.  About  400  had  been 
killed  and  wounded  on  each  side,  and  this  loss  had  been 
incurred  mainly  in  the  fight  between  Stirling  and  Grant. 
On  other  parts  of  the  field  the  British  triumph  had  consisted 
chiefly  in  the  scooping  up  of  prisoners,  of  whom  at  least 
1,000  were  taken.  The  stories  of  a  wholesale  butchery  by 
the  Hessians  which  once  were  current  have  been  completely 
disproved.  Washington  gave  a  detailed  account  of  the 
affair  a  few  days  afterward,  and  the  most  careful  investiga- 
tion has  shown  that  he  was  correct  in  every  particular.  But 
to  the  American  public  the  blow  was  none  the  less  terrible, 
while  in  England  the  exultation  served  as  an  offset  to  the 
chagrin  felt  after  the  loss  of  Boston  and  the  defeat  at  Fort 
Moultrie,  and  it  was  naturally  long  before  facts  could  be 
seen  in  their  true  proportions. 

Heavy  as  was  the  blow,  however,  General  Howe's  object 
was  still  but  half  attained.  He  had  neither  captured  nor 
destroyed  the  American  forces  on  Long  Island,  but  had 
only  driven  them  into  their  works.  He  was  still  confronted 
by  8,000  men  on  Brooklyn  Heights,  and  the  problem  was 
how  to  dislodge  them.  In  the  evening  Washington  came 
over  from  New  York,  and  made  everything  ready  to  resist  a 
storm.  To  this  end,  on  the  next  day,  he  brought  over  rein- 
forcements, raising  his  total  force  within  the  works  to  10,000 
men.  Under  such  circumstances,  if  the  British  had  at- 
tempted a  storm  they  would  probably  have  been  repulsed 
Howe  pre-  with  great  slaughter.  But  Howe  had  not  forgotten 
beSge°the  Bunker  Hill,  and  he  thought  it  best  to  proceed  by 
Heights;  way  0f  siege  As  soon  as  Washington  perceived 
this  intention  of  his  adversary,  he  saw  that  he  must  with- 
draw his  army.  He  would  have  courted  a  storm,  in  which 
he  was  almost  sure  to  be  victorious,  but  he  shrank  from  a 
siege,  in  which  he  was  quite  sure  to  lose  his  whole  force. 


1776  FIRST   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE  221 

The  British  troops  now  invested  him  in  a  semicircle,  and 
their  ships  might  at  any  moment  close  in  behind  and  cut  off 
his  only  retreat.  Accordingly,  sending  trusty  messengers 
across  the  river,  Washington  collected  every  sloop,  yacht, 
fishing-smack,  yawl,  scow,  or  row-boat  that  could  be  found 
in  either  water  from  the  Battery  to  King's  Bridge  or  Hell 
Gate ;  and  after  nightfall  of  the  29th,  these  craft  were  all 
assembled  at  the  Brooklyn  ferry,  and  wisely  manned  by  the 
fishermen  of  Marblehead  and  Gloucester  from  butwash- 
Glover's  Essex  regiment,  experts,  every  one  of  ^^nj£f? 
them,  whether  at  oar  or  sail.  All  through  the  hisarmy 
night  the  American  troops  were  ferried  across  the  broad 
river,  as  quietly  as  possible  and  in  excellent  order,  while 
Washington  superintended  the  details  of  the  embarkation, 
and  was  himself  the  last  man  to  leave  the  ground.  At  seven 
o'clock  in  the  morning  the  whole  American  army  had  landed 
on  the  New  York  side,  and  had  brought  with  them  all  their 
cannon,  small  arms,  ammunition,  tools,  and  horses,  and  all 
their  larder  besides,  so  that  when  the  bewildered  British 
climbed  into  the  empty  works  they  did  not  find  so  much  as 
a  biscuit  or  a  glass  of  rum  wherewith  to  console  themselves. 
This  retreat  has  always  been  regarded  as  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  incidents  in  Washington's  career,  and  it    TT. 

0  '  His 

would  certainly  be  hard  to  find  a  more  striking  ex-  vigilance 

ample  of  vigilance.     Had  Washington  allowed  him-  British  of 

self  to  be  cooped  up  on  Brooklyn  Heights  he  would  gowTnop- 

have  been  forced  to  surrender ;  and  whatever  was  P°rtuility 

7  ever  af- 

left  of  the  war  would  have  been  a  game  played  forded 
without  queen,  rook,  or  bishop.  For  this  very  rea- 
son it  is  hardly  creditable  to  Howe  that  he  should  have  let 
his  adversary  get  away  so  easily.  At  daybreak,  indeed,  the 
Americans  had  been  remarkably  favoured  by  the  sudden 
rise  of  a  fog  which  covered  the  East  river,  but  during  the 
night  the  moon  had  shone  brightly,  and  one  can  only  won- 
der that  the  multitudinous  plash  of  oars  and  the  unavoidable 
murmur  of  ten  thousand  men  embarking,  with  their  heavy 
guns  and  stores,  should  not  have  attracted  the  attention  of 


mj 


1776  FIRST   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE  223 

some  wakeful  sentinel,  either  on  shore  or  on  the  fleet.  A 
storming  party  of  British,  at  the  right  moment,  would  at 
least  have  disturbed  the  proceedings.  So  rare  a  chance  of 
ending  the  war  at  a  blow  was  never  again  to  be  offered  to 
the  British  commanders.  Washington  now  stationed  the 
bulk  of  his  army  along  the  line  of  the  Harlem  river,  leaving 
a  strong  detachment  in  the  city  under  Putnam ;  and  pres- 
ently, with  the  same  extraordinary  skill  which  he  had  just 
displayed  in  sending  boats  under  the  very  eyes  of  the  fleet, 
he  withdrew  Colonel  Prescott  and  his  troops  from  their  ex- 
posed position  on  Governor's  Island,  which  there  was  no 
longer  any  reason  for  holding. 

Hoping  that  the  stroke  just  given  by  the  British  sword 
might  have  weakened  the  obstinacy  of  the  Americans,  Lord 
Howe  again  had  recourse  to  the  olive-branch.  The  cap- 
tured General  Sullivan  was  sent  to  Congress  to  hold  out 
hopes  that  Lord  Howe  would  use  his  influence  to  get  all  the 
obnoxious  acts  of  Parliament  repealed,  only  he  would  first 
like  to  confer  with  some  of  the  members  of  Congress  in- 
formally and  as  with  mere  private  gentlemen.  A  lively  de- 
bate ensued  upon  this  proposal,  in  which  some  saw  an  insult 
to  Congress,  while  all  quite  needlessly  suspected  treachery. 
John  Adams,  about  whom  there  was  so  much  less  of  the 
suaviter  in  modo  than  of  the  fortiter  in  re,  alluded  to  Sulli- 
van, quite  unjustly,  as  a  "decoy  duck,"  who  had  better  have 
been  shot  in  the  battle  than  employed  on  such  a  business. 
It  was  finally  voted  that  no  proposals  of  peace  from  Great 
Britain  should  receive  notice,  unless  they  should  be  con- 
veyed in  writing,  and  should  explicitly  recognize  Theconfer. 
Congress  as  the  legal  representative  of  the  Amer-  ence  at 
ican  States.  For  this  once,  however,  out  of  per-  land,  Sept 
sonal  regard  for  Lord  Howe,  and  that  nothing  JI 
might  be  disdained  which  really  looked  toward  a  peaceful  set- 
tlement, they  would  send  a  committee  to  Staten  Island  to 
confer  with  his  lordship,  who  might  regard  this  committee  in 

1  This  is  a  contemporary  view  of  the  road  by  which  Howe  advanced 
upon  Sullivan's  rear. 


224  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  v 

whatever  light  he  pleased.  In  this  shrewd,  half-humorous 
method  of  getting  rid  of  the  diplomatic  difficulty,  one  is 
forcibly  reminded  of  President  Lincoln's  famous  proclama- 
tion addressed  "  To  whom  it  may  concern."  The  committee, 
consisting  of  Franklin,  Rutledge,  and  John  Adams,  were 
hospitably  entertained  by  Lord  Howe,  but  their  conference 
came  to  nothing,  because  the  Americans  now  demanded  a 
recognition  of  their  independence  as  a  condition  which  must 
precede  all  negotiation.  There  is  no  doubt  that  Lord  Howe, 
who  was  a  warm  friend  to  the  Americans  and  an  energetic 
opponent  of  the  king's  policy,  was  bitterly  grieved  at  this 
result.  As  a  last  resort  he  published  a  proclamation  an- 
nouncing the  intention  of  the  British  government  to  recon- 
sider the  various  acts  and  instructions  by  which  the  Ameri- 
cans had  been  annoyed,  and  appealing  to  all  right-minded 
people  to  decide  for  themselves  whether  it  were  not  wise  to 
rely  on  a  solemn  promise  like  this,  rather  than  commit 
themselves  to  the  dangerous  chances  of  an  unequal  and  un- 
righteous war. 

Four  days  after  this  futile  interview  General  Howe  took 
possession  of  New  York.  After  the  loss  of  Brooklyn 
Howe  takes  Heights,  Washington  and  Greene  were  already 
New^York  aware  that  the  city  could  not  be  held.  Its  capture 
Sept.  15  was  verv  easily  effected.  Several  ships-of-the-line 
ascended  the  Hudson  as  far  as  Bloomingdale,  and  the  East 
river  as  far  as  Blackwell's  Island  ;  and  while  thus  from  either 
side  these  vessels  swept  the  northern  part  of  Manhattan 
with  a  searching  fire,  General  Howe  brought  his  army  across 
from  Brooklyn  in  boats  and  landed  at  Kipp's  Bay,  near  the 
present  site  of  East  Thirty-Fourth  Street.  Washington 
came  promptly  down,  with  two  New  England  brigades,  to 
reinforce  the  men  whom  he  had  stationed  at  that  point,  and 
to  hinder  the  landing  of  the  enemy  until  Putnam  should 
have  time  to  evacuate  the  city.  To  Washington's  wrath 
and  disgust,  these  men  were  seized  with  panic,  and  suddenly 
turned  and  fled  without  firing  a  shot.  Had  Howe  now 
thrown  his  men  promptly  forward  across  the  line  of  Thirty- 


1776  FIRST   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE  225 

Fourth  Street,  he  would  have  cut  off  Putnam's  retreat  from 
the  city.     But  what  the  New  England  brigades  failed  to  do 
a  bright  woman  succeeded  in  accomplishing.     When  Howe 
had  reached  the  spot  known  as  Murray  Hill,  —  now  the 
centre   of    much    brownstone    magnificence   in    Park    and 
Madison  and  Fifth  avenues,  at  that  time  a  noble  country 
farmstead,  —  Mrs.   Lindley  Murray,  mother  of  the  famous 
grammarian,  well  knowing  the  easy  temper  of  the  British 
commander,  sent  out  a  servant  to  invite  him  to  stop   but  Mrs 
and  take  luncheon.     A  general  halt  was  ordered ;    Lindley 
and  while  Howe  and  his  officers  were  gracefully   saves  the 
entertained  for  more  than  two  hours  by  their  ac-   garnson 
complished  and  subtle  hostess,  Putnam  hastily  marched  his 
4,000  men  up  the  shore  of  the  Hudson,  until,  passing  Bloom- 
ingdale,  he  touched  the  right  wing  of  the  main  army,  and 
was  safe,   though  his  tents,   blankets,   and  heavy   Attack 
guns  had  been  left  behind.     The  American  lines   uP°n  H*r- 
now  extended   from  the  mouth  of    Harlem  river   Heights, 
across  the  island,  and  on  the  following  day  the     ep ' x 
British  attempted  to  break  through  their  centre  at  Harlem 
Heights,  but  the  attack  was  repulsed,  with  a  loss  of  sixty 
Americans  and  three  hundred  British,  and  the  lines  just 
formed  remained,  with  very  little  change,  for  nearly  four 
weeks. 

General  Howe  had  thus  got  possession  of  the  city  of  New 
York,  but  the  conquest  availed  him  little  so  long  as  the 
American  army  stood  across  the  island,  in  the  attitude  of 
blockading  him.     If  this  campaign  was  to  decide  the  war, 
as  the  ministry  hoped,  nothing  short  of  the  capture   The  new 
or  dispersal  of  Washington's  army  would  suffice,    before"1 
But  the  problem  was  now  much  harder  than  it  had   Howe 
been  at  Brooklyn.     For  as  the  land  above  Manhattan  Island 
widens  rapidly  to  the  north  and  east,  it  would  not  be  easy 
to  hem  Washington  in  by  sending  forces  to  his  rear.     As 
soon  as  he  should  find   his  position   imperilled,  he  would 
possess  the  shorter  line  by  which  to  draw  his  battalions 
together  and  force  an   escape,   and   so  the  event  proved. 


226 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  V 


Still,  with  Howe's  superior  force  and  with  his  fleet,  if  he 
could  get  up  the  Hudson  to  the  rear  of  the  American  right, 
and  at  the  same  time  land  troops  from  the  Sound  in  the 
rear  of  the  American  left,  it  was  possible  that  Washington 
might  be  compelled  to  surrender.  There  was  nothing  to 
bar  Howe's  passage  up  the  East  river  to  the  Sound ;  but  at 
the  northern  extremity  of  Manhattan  Island  the  ascent  of 
the  Hudson  was  guarded  on  the  east  by  Fort  Washington, 
under  command  of  Putnam,  and  on  the  west  by  Fort  Lee, 
standing  on  the  summit  of  the  lofty  cliffs  known  as  the 
Palisades,  and  commanded  by  Greene.  It  was  still  doubt- 
ful, however,  whether  these  two  strongholds  could  effectu- 
ally bar  the  ascent  of  so  broad  a  river,  and  for  further 
security  Putnam  undertook  to  place  obstructions  in  the  bed 
of  the  stream  itself.  Both  the  Continental  Congress  and 
the  State  Convention  of  New  York  were  extremely  unwill- 
ing that  these  two  fortresses  should  in  any  event  be  given 
up,  for  in  no  case  must  the  Hudson  river  be  abandoned. 
Putnam  and  Greene  thought  that  the  forts  could  be  held, 


1776 


FIRST   BLOW  AT  THE   CENTRE 


OB  H 


Fort  "Washijj    ^ 


but  by  the  9th  of  October  it  was  proved  that  they  could  not 
bar  the  passage  of  the  river,  for  on  that  day  two  frigates 
ran  safely  between  them,  and  captured  some  small  Ameri- 
can craft  a  short  distance  above. 

This  point  having  been  ascertained,  General  Howe,  on  the 
1 2th,  leaving  Percy  in  command  before  Harlem  Heights, 
moved  the  greater  part  of  his  army  nine  miles  up 
the  East  river  to  Throg's  Neck,  a  peninsula  in 
the  Sound,  separated  from  the  mainland  by  a 
narrow  creek  and  a  marsh  that  was  overflowed 
at  high  tide.  By  landing  here  suddenly,  Howe 
hoped  to  get  in  Washington's  rear  and  cut  him  off  from  his 
base  of  supply  in  Connecticut.  But  Washington  had  foreseen 
the  move  and  forestalled  it.  When  Howe  arrived  at  Throg's 
Neck,  he  found  the  bridge  over  the  creek  destroyed,  and 
the  main  shore  occupied  by  a  force  which  it  would  be  dan- 
gerous to  try  to  dislodge  by  wading  across  the  marsh. 
While  Howe  was  thus  detained  six  days  on  the  peninsula 
Washington  moved  his  base  to  White  Plains,  and  concen- 


Howe 

moves  upon 
Throg's 
Neck,  but 
Washing- 
ton changes 
base 


228  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  v 

trated  his  whole  army  at  that  point,  abandoning  everything 
on  Manhattan  Island  except  Fort  Washington.  Sullivan, 
Stirling,  and  Morgan  who  had  just  been  exchanged,  now 
rejoined  the  army,  and  Lee  also  arrived  from  South  Caro- 
lina. 

By  this  movement  to  White  Plains,  Washington  had 
foiled  Howe's  attempt  to  get  in  his  rear,  and  the  British 
Baffled  at  general  decided  to  try  the  effect  of  an  attack  in 
white         front.     On  the  28th  of  October  he  succeeded  in 

Plains, 

Howe  tries  storming  an  outpost  at  Chatterton  Hill,  losing  229 
a  new  pan  j-yes^  wnjje  tne  Americans  lost  140.  But  this 
affair,  which  is  sometimes  known  as  the  battle  of  White 
Plains,  seems  to  have  discouraged  Howe.  Before  renewing 
the  attack  he  waited  three  days,  thinking  perhaps  of  Bunker 
Hill ;  and  on  the  last  night  of  October,  Washington  fell 
back  upon  North  Castle,  where  he  took  a  position  so  strong 
that  it  was  useless  to  think  of  assailing  him.  Howe  then 
changed  his  plans  entirely,  and  moved  down  the  east  bank 
of  the  Hudson  to  Dobb's  Ferry,  whence  he  could  either 
attack  Fort  Washington  or  cross  into  New  Jersey  and 
advance  upon  Philadelphia,  the  "rebel  capital."  The  pur- 
pose of  this  change  was  to  entice  Washington  from  his 
unassailable  position. 

To  meet  this  new  movement,  Washington  threw  his 
advance  of  5,000  men,  under  Putnam,  into  New  Jersey, 
where  they  encamped  near  Hackensack ;  he  sent  Heath  up 
to  Peekskill,  with  3,000  men,  to  guard  the  entrance  to  the 
Highlands ;  and  he  left  Lee  at  North  Castle,  with  7,000 
men,  and  ordered  him  to  cooperate  with  him  promptly  in 
whatever  direction,  as  soon  as  the  nature  of  Howe's  plans 
Washing-  should  become  apparent.  As  Forts  Washington 
tons  orders   ancj  Lee  detained  a  large  force  in  garrison,  while 

xn  view  of  i  i  i 

theemer-  they  had  shown  themselves  unable  to  prevent 
ships  from  passing  up  the  river,  there  was  no 
longer  any  use  in  holding  them.  Nay,  they  had  now  be- 
come dangerous,  as  traps  in  which  the  garrisons  and  stores 
might  be  suddenly  surrounded  and  captured.     Washington 


1776  FIRST   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE  229 

accordingly  resolved  to  evacuate  them  both,  while,  to  allay 
the  fears  of  Congress  in  the  event  of  a  descent  from  Canada, 
he  ordered  Heath  to  fortify  the  much  more  important  posi- 
tion at  West  Point. 

Had  Washington's  orders  been  obeyed  and  his  plans 
carried  out,  history  might  still  have  recorded  a  retreat 
through  "the  Jerseys,"  but  how  different  a  retreat  Congress 
from  that  which  was  now  about  to  take  place !  with  the 
The  officious  interference  of  Congress,  a  venial  "ndmud- 
error  of  judgment  on  the  part  of  Greene,  and  gross  dies  it 
insubordination  on  the  part  of  Lee,  occurring  all  together 
at  this  critical  moment,  brought  about  the  greatest  disaster 
of  the  war,  and  came  within  an  ace  of  overwhelming  the 
American  cause  in  total  and  irretrievable  ruin.  Washing- 
ton instructed  Greene,  who  now  commanded  both  fortresses, 
to  withdraw  the  garrison  and  stores  from  Fort  Washington, 
and  to  make  arrangements  for  evacuating  Fort  Lee  also. 
At  the  same  time  he  did  not  give  a  positive  order,  but  left 
the  matter  somewhat  within  Greene's  discretion,  in  case 
military  circumstances  of  an  unforeseen  kind  should  arise. 
Then,  while  Washington  had  gone  up  to  reconnoitre  the 
site  for  the  new  fortress  at  West  Point,  there  came  a  special 
order  from  Congress  that  Fort  Washington  should  not  be 
abandoned  save  under  direst  extremity.  If  Greene  had 
thoroughly  grasped  Washington's  view  of  the  case,  he  would 
have  disregarded  this  conditional  order,  for  there  could 
hardly  be  a  worse  extremity  than  that  which  the  sudden 
capture  of  the  fortress  would  entail.  But  Greene's  mind 
was  not  quite  clear ;  he  believed  that  the  fort  could  be  held, 
and  he  did  not  like  to  take  the  responsibility  of  disregarding 
a  message  from  Congress.  In  this  dilemma  he  did  the 
worst  thing  possible :  he  reinforced  the  doomed  garrison, 
and  awaited  Washington's  return. 

When  the  commander-in-chief  returned,  on  the  14th,  he 
learned  with  dismay  that  nothing  had  been  done.  But  it 
was  now  too  late  to  mend  matters,  for  that  very  night  several 
British  vessels  passed  up  between  the  forts,  and  the  next 


230 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  V 


REMAINS  OF   FORT   WASHINGTON,  NEW  YORK,   1856 


day  Howe  appeared  before  Fort  Washington  with  an  over- 
whelming force,  and  told  Colonel  Magaw,  the  officer  in 
charge,  that  if  he  did  not  immediately  surrender  the  whole 
garrison  would  be  put  to  the  sword.  Magaw  replied  that  if 
Howe  Howe  wanted  his  fort  he  must  come  and  take  it. 

WaThing^  On  the  1 6th,  after  a  sharp  struggle,  in  which  the 
storm7  Americans  fought  with  desperate  gallantry  though 
Nov.  16  they  were  outnumbered  more  than  five  to  one,  the 
works  were  carried,  and  the  whole  garrison  was  captured. 
The  victory  cost  the  British  more  than  500  men  in  killed 
and  wounded.  The  Americans,  fighting  behind  their  works, 
lost  but  1 50  ;  but  they  surrendered  3,000  of  the  best  troops 
in  their  half-trained  army,  together  with  an  immense  quan- 
tity of  artillery  and  small  arms.  It  was  not  in  General 
Howe's  kindly  nature  to  carry  out  his  savage  threat  of  the 
day  before ;  but  some  of  the  Hessians,  maddened  with  the 
stubborn  resistance  they  had  encountered,  began  murdering 
their  prisoners  in  cold  blood,  until  they  were  sharply  called 
to  order.  From  Fort  Lee,  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the 
river,  Washington  surveyed  this  woful  surrender  with  his 
usual  iron  composure  ;  but  when  it  came  to  seeing  his  brave 
men  thrown  down   and  stabbed  to  death   by  the  Hessian 


1776  FIRST   BLOW  AT   THE   CENTRE  231 

bayonets,  his  overwrought  heart  could  bear  it  no  longer,  and 
he  cried  and  sobbed  like  a  child. 

This  capture  of  the  garrison  of  Fort  Washington  was  one 
of  the  most  crushing  blows  that  befell  the  American  arms 
during  the  whole  course  of  the  war.  Washington's  cam- 
paign seemed  now  likely  to  be  converted  into  a  mere  flight, 
and  a  terrible  gloom  overspread  the  whole  country.  The 
disaster  was  primarily  due  to  the  interference  of  Congress. 
It  might  have  been  averted  by  prompt  and  decisive  Washin 
action  on  the  part  of  Greene.  But  Washington,  ton  and 
whose  clear  judgment  made  due  allowance  for  all 
the  circumstances,  never  for  a  moment  cast  any  blame  upon 
his  subordinate.  The  lesson  was  never  forgotten  by  Greene, 
whose  intelligence  was  of  that  high  order  which  may  indeed 
make  a  first  mistake,  but  never  makes  a  second.  The 
friendship  between  the  two  generals  became  warmer  than 
ever.  Washington,  by  a  sympathetic  instinct,  had  divined 
from  the  outset  the  military  genius  that  was  by  and  by  to 
prove  scarcely  inferior  to  his  own. 

Yet  worse  remained  behind.  Washington  had  but  6,000 
men  on  the  Jersey  side  of  the  river,  and  it  was  now  high 
time  for  Lee  to  come  over  from  North  Castle  and  join  him, 
with  the  force  of  7,000  that  had  been  left  under  his  com- 
mand. On  the  1 7th,  Washington  sent  a  positive  order  for 
him  to  cross  the  river  at  once  ;  but  Lee  dissembled,  outrageous 
pretended  to  regard  the  order  in  the  light  of  mere  g£$£  of 
advice,  and  stayed  where  he  was.  He  occupied  an  Lee 
impregnable  position :  why  should  he  leave  it,  and  imperil  a 
force  with  which  he  might  accomplish  something  memo- 
rable on  his  own  account  ?  By  the  resignation  of  General 
Ward,  Lee  had  become  the  senior  major-general  of  the 
Continental  army,  and  in  the  event  of  disaster  to  Washing- 
ton he  would  almost  certainly  become  commander-in-chief. 
He  had  returned  from  South  Carolina  more  arrogant  and 
loud-voiced  than  ever.  The  northern  people  knew  little 
of  Moultrie,  while  they  supposed  Lee  to  be  a  great  military 
light ;  and  the  charlatan  accordingly  got  the  whole  credit  of 


232 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  V 


the  victory,  which,  if  his  precious  advice  had  been  taken, 
would  never  have  been  won.  Lee  was  called  the  hero  of 
Charleston,  and  people  began  to  contrast  the  victory  of  Sulli- 
van's Island  with  the  recent  defeats,  and  to  draw  conclusions 
very  disparaging  to  Washington.  From  the  beginning  Lee 
had  felt  personally  aggrieved  at  not  being  appointed  to  the 
chief  command,  and  now  he  seemed  to  see  a  fair  chance  of 
ruining  his  hated  rival.  Should  he  come  to  the  head  of  the 
army  in  a  moment  of  dire  disaster  to  the  Americans,  it 
would  be  so  much  the  better,  for  it  would  be  likely  to  open 


GENERAL  GREENE'S  HEADQUARTERS,  FORT  LEE,  NEW  JERSEY 


negotiations  with  Lord  Howe,  and  Lee  loved  to  chaffer  and 
intrigue  much  better  than  to  fight.  So  he  spent  his  time 
in  endeavouring,  by  insidious  letters  and  lying  whispers,  to 
nourish  the  feeling  of  disaffection  toward  Washington,  while 
he  refused  to  send  a  single  regiment  to  his  assistance. 
Thus,  through  the  villainy  of  this  traitor  in  the  camp,  Wash- 
ington actually  lost  more  men,  so  far  as  their  present  use 
was  concerned  at  this  most  critical  moment,  than  he  had 


1776  FIRST   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE  233 

been  deprived  of  by  all  the  blows  which  the  enemy  had 
dealt  him  since  the  beginning  of  the  campaign. 

On  the  night  of  the  19th,  Howe  threw  5,000  men  across 
the  river,  about  five  miles  above  Fort  Lee,  and  with  this 
force  Lord  Cornwallis  marched  rapidly  down  upon  that 
stronghold.  The  place  had  become  untenable,  and  it  was 
with  some  difficulty  that  a  repetition  of  the  catastrophe  of 
Fort  Washington  was  avoided.  Greene  had  barely  Greene 
time,  with  his  2,000  men,  to  gain  the  bridge  over  JjrgSyfers0"m 
the  Hackensack  and  join  the  main  army,  leaving   Fort  Lee, 

Nov  20 

behind  all  his  cannon,  tents,  blankets,  and  eatables. 
The  position  now  occupied  by  the  main  army,  between  the 
Hackensack  and  Passaic  rivers,  was  an  unsafe  one,  in  view 
of  the  great  superiority  of  the  enemy  in  numbers.  A 
strong  British  force,  coming  down  upon  Washington  from 
the  north,  might  compel  him  to  surrender  or  to  fight  at  a 
great  disadvantage.  To  avoid  this  danger,  on  the  21st  he 
crossed  the  Passaic  and  marched  southwestward  to  Newark, 
where  he  stayed  five  days ;  and  every  day  he  sent  a  messen- 
ger to  Lee,  urging  him 
to  make  all  possible  haste  jti 

in  bringing  over  his  half     ^^^    C&u^Crrk, 
of   the   army,  that   they 
might    be    able    to    con- 
front the  enemy  on  something  like  equal  terms.     Nothing 
could  have  been   more  explicit  or  more  peremptory  than 
Washington's  orders ;  but   Lee  affected  to   misunderstand 
them,  sent  excuses,  raised  objections,  paltered,  argued,  pre- 
varicated, and  lied,  and  so  contrived  to  stay  where  he  was 
until  the  first  of  December.     To  Washington  he  pretended 
that  his  moving  was  beset  by  "  obstacles,"  the  nature  of 
which  he  would  explain  as  soon  as  they  should  meet.     But 
to   James    Bowdoin,   president   of    the    executive   Leein. 
council  of   Massachusetts,  he  wrote  at  the  same    friges 

against 

time  declaring  that  his  own  army  and  that  under   Washing- 

Washington  "must  rest  each  on  its  own  bottom." 

He  assumed  command  over  Heath,  who  had  been  left  to 


234  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  v 

guard  the  Highlands,  and  ordered  him  to  send  2,000  troops 
to  himself ;  but  that  officer  very  properly  refused  to  depart 
from  the  instructions  which  the  commander-in-chief  had  left 
with  him.  To  various  members  of  Congress  Lee  told  the 
falsehood  that  if  his  advice  had  only  been  heeded,  Fort 
Washington  would  have  been  evacuated  ere  it  was  too  late  ; 
and  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Rush,  wondering  whether  any  of  the 
members  of  Congress  had  ever  studied  Roman  history,  and 
suggesting  that  he  might  do  great  things  if  he  could  only  be 
made  Dictator  for  one  week. 

Meanwhile  Washington,  unable  to  risk  a  battle,  was  rapidly 
retreating  through  New  Jersey.  On  the  28th  of  November 
Cornwallis  advanced  upon  Newark,  and  Washington  fell 
back  upon  New  Brunswick.  On  the  first  of  December,  as 
Cornwallis  reached  the  latter  place,  Washington  broke  down 
Washing-  the  bridge  over  the  Raritan,  and  continued  his 
intYpenn-5  retreat  to  Princeton.  The  terms  of  service  for 
sylvania  which  his  troops  had  been  enlisted  were  now  be- 
ginning to  expire,  and  so  great  was  the  discouragement 
wrought  by  the  accumulation  of  disasters  which  had  befallen 
the  army  since  the  battle  of  Long  Island  that  many  of  the 
soldiers  lost  heart  in  their  work.  Homesickness  began  to 
prevail,  especially  among  the  New  England  troops,  and  as 
their  terms  expired  it  was  difficult  to  persuade  them  to 
reenlist.  Under  these  circumstances  the  army  dwindled 
fast,  until,  by  the  time  he  reached  Princeton,  Washington 
had  but  3,000  men  remaining  at  his  disposal.  The  only 
thing  to  be  done  was  to  put  the  broad  stream  of  the  Dela- 
ware between  himself  and  the  enemy,  and  this  he  accom- 
plished by  the  8th,  carrying  over  all  his  guns  and  stores, 
and  seizing  or  destroying  every  boat  that  could  be  found  on 
that  great  river  for  many  miles  in  either  direction.  When 
the  British  arrived,  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  they 
found  it  impossible  to  cross.  Cornwallis  was  eager  to  col- 
lect a  flotilla  of  boats  as  soon  as  practicable,  and  push  on  to 
Philadelphia,  but  Howe,  who  had  just  joined  him,  thought 
it  hardly  worth  while  to  take  so  much  trouble,  as  the  river 


1776  .      FIRST   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE  235 

would  be  sure  to  freeze  over  before  many  days.  So  the 
army  was  posted  —  with  front  somewhat  too  far  extended 
—  along  the  east  bank,  with  its  centre  at  Trenton,  under 
Colonel  Rahl;  and  while  they  waited  for  that  "snap"  of 
intensely  cold  weather,  which  in  this  climate  seldom  fails  to 
come  on  within  a  few  days  of  Christmas,  Howe  and  Corn- 
wallis  both  went  back  to  New  York. 

Meanwhile,  on  the  2d  of  December,  Lee  had  at  last 
crossed  the  Hudson  with  a  force  diminished  to  4,000  men, 
and  had  proceeded  by  slow  marches  as  far  as  Morristown. 
Further  reinforcements  were  at  hand.  General  Schuyler, 
in  command  of  the  army  which  had  retreated  the  last  sum- 
mer from  Canada,  was  guarding  the  forts  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain  ;  and  as  these  appeared  to  be  safe  for  the  present,  he 
detached  seven  regiments  to  go  to  the  aid  of  Washington. 
As  soon  as  Lee  heard  of  the  arrival  of  three  of  Remforce- 
these  regiments  at  Peekskill,  he  ordered  them  to  j™^tscome 
join  him  at  Morristown.  As  the  other  four,  under  Schuyler 
General  Gates,  were  making  their  way  through  northern 
New  Jersey,  doubts  arose  as  to  where  they  should  find 
Washington  in  the  course  of  his  swift  retreat.  Gates  sent 
his  aid,  Major  Wilkinson,  forward  for  instructions,  and  he, 
learning  that  Washington  had  withdrawn  into  Pennsylvania, 
reported  to  Lee  at  Morristown,  as  second  in  command. 

Lee  had  left  his  army  in  charge  of   Sullivan,  and  had 
foolishly  taken  up  his  quarters  at  an  unguarded  tavern  about 
four  miles  from  the  town,  where  Wilkinson  found  him  in 
bed   on   the   morning   of   the   13th.     After  breakfast    Lee 
wrote  a  confidential  letter  to  Gates,  as  to  a  kindred    Fortu- 
spirit  from  whom  he  might  expect  to  get  sympathy.    "h^Ameri- 
Terrible  had  been  the  consequences  of  the  disas-   cans>  the 
ter  at   Fort  Washington.     "  There  never  was  so   capture 
damned  a  stroke,"  said  the  letter.     "  Entre  nous,  a   Lee,  Dec. 
certain  great  man  is  most  damnably  deficient.     He    I3 
has  thrown  me  into  a  situation  where  I  have  my  choice  of 
difficulties.     If  I   stay  in  this  province  I  risk  myself  and 
army,  and  if  I  do  not  stay  the  province  is  lost  forever.  .  .  . 


Annapolis 


OPERATIONS    IN    NEW  YORK 


>^~  /  Jj  WestPoint^*^  I     °  Danbury 

Y^^L/^  4*  *&M  |CONNE< 

A    StonyjMnt^feekski11  1°  RidSefield 

>  North  CastleX  j 

yt'         Fairfield    M 


y&  /Jt\  A    StonyVPoint  ^ 

y'allpeckJ^     \  ^      Havtrstraw 


iussex  C.II 


AND    NEW  JERSEY,    1776  AND    1777 


238  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  v 

Our  counsels  have  been  weak  to  the  last  degree.  As  to 
yourself,  if  you  think  you  can  be  in  time  to  aid  the  general, 
I  would  have  you  by  all  means  go.  You  will  at  least  save 
your  army.  .  .  .  Adieu,  my  dear  friend.  God  bless  you." 
Hardly  had  he  signed  his  name  to  this  scandalous  document 
when  Wilkinson,  who  was  standing  at  the  window,  exclaimed 
that  the  British  were  upon  them.  Sure  enough.  A  Tory 
in  the  neighbourhood,  discerning  the  golden  opportunity, 
had  galloped  eighteen  miles  to  the  British  lines,  and  returned 
with  a  party  of  thirty  dragoons,  who  surrounded  the  house 
and  captured  the  vainglorious  schemer  before  he  had  time 
to  collect  his  senses.  Bareheaded,  and  dressed  only  in  a 
flannel  gown  and  slippers,  he  was  mounted  on  Wilkinson's 
horse,  which  stood  waiting  at  the  door,  and  was  carried  off, 
amid  much  mirth  and  exultation,  to  the  British  camp. 
Crest-fallen  and  bewildered,  he  expressed  a  craven  hope 
that  his  life  might  be  spared,  but  was  playfully  reminded 
that  he  would  very  likely  be  summarily  dealt  with  as  a 
deserter  from  the  British  army ;  and  with  this  scant  comfort 
he  was  fain  to  content  himself  for  some  weeks  to  come. 

The  capture  of  General  Lee  was  reckoned  by  the  people 
as  one  more  in  the  list  of  dire  catastrophes  which  made  the 
present  season  the  darkest  moment  in  the  whole  course  of 
the  war.  Had  they  known  all  that  we  know  now,  they 
would  have  seen  that  the  army  was  well  rid  of  a  worthless 
mischief-maker,  while  the  history  of  the  war  had  gained  a 
curiously  picturesque  episode.  Apart  from  this  incident 
there  was  cause  enough  for  the  gloom  which  now  over- 
spread the  whole  country.  Washington  had  been  forced  to 
seek  shelter  behind  the  Delaware  with  a  handful  of  men, 
whose  terms  of  service  were  soon  to  expire,  and  another 
fortnight  might  easily  witness  the  utter  dispersal  of  this 
poor  little  army.     At  Philadelphia,  where  Putnam  was  now 

in  command,  there  was  a  general  panic,  and  peo- 
that  tried      pie  began  hiding  their  valuables  and  moving  their 

wives  and  children   out    into   the   country.     Con- 
gress took  fright,  and  retired  to  Baltimore.     At  the  begin- 


1776  FIRST   BLOW  AT   THE   CENTRE  239 

ning  of  December,  Lord  Howe  and  his  brother  had  issued 
a  proclamation  offering  pardon  and  protection  to  all  citizens 
who  within  sixty  days  should  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  British  Crown ;  and  in  the  course  of  ten  days  nearly 
three  thousand  persons,  many  of  them  wealthy  and  of  high 
standing  in  society,  had  availed  themselves  of  this  promise. 
The  British  soldiers  and  the  Tories  considered  the  contest 
virtually  ended.  General  Howe  was  compared  with  Caesar, 
who  came,  and  saw,  and  conquered.  For  his  brilliant  suc- 
cesses he  had  been  made  a  Knight  Commander  of  the  Bath, 
and  New  York  was  to  become  the  scene  of  merry  Christmas 
festivities  on  the  occasion  of  his  receiving  the  famous  red 
ribbon.  In  his  confidence  that  Washington's  strength  was 
quite  exhausted,  he  detached  a  considerable  force  from  the 
army  in  New  Jersey,  and  sent  it,  under  Lord  Percy,  to  take 
possession  of  Newport  as  a  convenient  station  for  British 
ships  entering  the  Sound.  Donop  and  Rahl  with  their  Hes- 
sians and  Grant  with  his  hardy  Scotchmen  would  now  quite 
suffice  to  destroy  the  remnant  of  Washington's  army  ;  and 
Cornwallis  accordingly  packed  his  portmanteaus  and  sent 
them  aboard  ship,  intending  to  sail  for  England  as  soon  as 
the  fumes  of  the  Christmas  punch  should  be  duly  slept  off*. 

Well  might  Thomas  Paine  declare,  in  the  first  of  the 
series  of  pamphlets  entitled  "The  Crisis,"  which  he  now 
began  to  publish,  that  "  these  are  the  times  that  try  men's 
souls."  But  in  the  midst  of  the  general  despondency  there 
were  a  few  brave  hearts  that  had  not  yet  begun  to  despair, 
and  the  bravest  of  these  was  Washington's.  At  this  awful 
moment  the  whole  future  of  America,  and  of  all  washing- 
that  America  signifies  to  the  world,  rested  upon  Jjjyfj 
that  single  Titanic  will.  Cruel  defeat  and  yet  more  strike  back 
cruel  treachery,  enough  to  have  crushed  the  strongest,  could 
not  crush  Washington.  All  the  lion  in  him  was  aroused, 
and  his  powerful  nature  was  aglow  with  passionate  resolve. 
His  keen  eye  already  saw  the  elements  of  weakness  in 
Howe's  too  careless  disposition  of  his  forces  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  Delaware,  and  he  had  planned  for  his  antagonist 


240 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  V 


such  a  Christmas  greeting  as  he  little  expected.  Just  at 
this  moment  Washington  was  opportunely  reinforced  by 
Sullivan  and  Gates,  with  the  troops  lately  under  Lee's  com- 
mand ;  and  with  his  little  army  thus  raised  to  6,000  men, 
he  meditated  such  a  stroke  as  might  revive  the  drooping 
spirits  of  his  countrymen,  and  confound  the  enemy  in  the 
very  moment  of  his  fancied  triumph. 

Washington's  plan  was,  by  a  sudden  attack,  to  overwhelm 


GEORGE    WASHINGTON    (BY    TRUMBULL) 


the  British  centre  at  Trenton,  and  thus  force  the  army  to 
retreat  upon  New  York.  The  Delaware  was  to  be  crossed 
in  three  divisions.  The  right  wing,  of  2,000  men,  under 
Gates,  was  to  attack  Count  Donop  at  Burlington ;  Ewing, 
with  the  centre,  was  to  cross  directly  opposite  Trenton ; 


1776  FIRST   BLOW  AT   THE   CENTRE  241 

while  Washington  himself,  with  the  left  wing,  was  to  cross 
nine  miles  above,  and  march  down  upon  Trenton  from  the 
north.  On  Christmas  Day  all  was  ready,  but  the  begin- 
nings of  the  enterprise  were  not  auspicious.  Gates,  who 
preferred  to  go  and  intrigue  in  Congress,  succeeded  in 
begging  off,  and  started  for  Baltimore.  Cadwalader,  who 
took  his  place,  tried  hard  to  get  his  men  and  artillery  across 
the  river,  but  was  baffled  by  the  huge  masses  of  floating 
ice,  and  reluctantly  gave  up  the  attempt.  Ewing  was  so 
discouraged  that  he  did  not  even  try  to  cross,  and  both 
officers  took  it  for  granted  that  Washington  must    TT 

0  °  He  crosses 

be  foiled  in  like  manner.  But  Washington  was  the  Deia- 
desperately  in  earnest ;  and  although  at  sunset, 
just  as  he  had  reached  his  crossing-place,  he  was  informed 
by  special  messenger  of  the  failure  of  Ewing  and  Cadwal- 
ader, he  determined  to  go  on  and  make  the  attack  with  the 
2,500  men  whom  he  had  with  him.  The  great  blocks  of 
ice,  borne  swiftly  along  by  the  powerful  current,  made  the 
passage  extremely  dangerous,  but  Glover,  with  his  skilful 
fishermen  of  Marblehead,  succeeded  in  ferrying  the  little 
army  across  without  the  loss  of  a  man  or  a  gun.  More 
than  ten  hours  were  consumed  in  the  passage,  and  then 
there  was  a  march  of  nine  miles  to  be  made  in  a  blinding 
storm  of  snow  and  sleet.  They  pushed  rapidly  on  in  two 
columns,  led  by  Greene  and  Sullivan  respectively,  and  pierces 
drove  in  the  enemy's  pickets  at  the  point  of  the   the  British 

J       x  *■  centre  at 

bayonet,  and  entered  the  town  by  different  roads  Trenton, 
soon  after  sunrise.  Washington's  guns  were  at 
once  planted  so  as  to  sweep  the  streets,  and  after  Colonel 
Rahl  and  seventeen  of  his  men  had  been  slain,  the  whole 
body  of  Hessians,  1,000  in  number,  surrendered  at  discre- 
tion. Of  the  Americans,  two  were  frozen  to  death  on  the 
march,  and  two  were  killed  in  the  action.  By  noon  of  the 
next  day  Cadwalader  had  crossed  the  river  to  Burlington, 
but  no  sooner  had  Donop  heard  what  had  happened  at 
Trenton  than  he  retreated  by  a  circuitous  route  to  Prince- 
ton, leaving  behind  all  his  sick  and  wounded  soldiers,  and 


242  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  v 

all  his  heavy  arms  and  baggage.  Washington  recrossed 
into  Pennsylvania  with  his  prisoners,  but  again  advanced, 
and  occupied  Trenton  on  the  29th. 

When  the  news  of  the  catastrophe  reached  New  York, 
Comwaiiis  tne  holiday  feasting  was  rudely  disturbed.  Instead 
toTetriT  °^  emDarking  for  England,  Cornwallis  rode  post- 
the  disas-  haste  to  Princeton,  where  he  found  Donop  throw- 
ing up  earthworks.  On  the  morning  of  January 
2d  Cornwallis  advanced,  with  8,000  men,  upon  Trenton,  but 
his  march  was  slow  and  painful.  He  was  exposed  during 
most  of  the  day  to  a  galling  fire  from  parties  of  riflemen 
hidden  in  the  woods  by  the  roadside,  and  Greene,  with 
a  force  of  600  men  and  two  field-pieces,  contrived  so  to 
harass  and  delay  him  that  he  did  not  reach  Trenton  till 
late  in  the  afternoon.  By  that  time  Washington  had  with- 
drawn his  whole  force  beyond  the  Assunpink,  a  small  river 
which  flows  into  the  Delaware  just  south  of  Trenton,  and 
had  guarded  the  bridge  and  the  fords  by  batteries  admirably 
placed.  The  British  made  several  attempts  to  cross,  but 
were  repulsed  with  some  slaughter ;  and  as  their  day's  work 
had  sorely  fatigued  them,  Cornwallis  thought  best  to  wait 
until  to-morrow,  while  he  sent  his  messenger  post-haste 
back  to  Princeton  to  bring  up  a  force  of  nearly  2,000  men 
and  thinks  which  he  had  left  behind  there.  With  this  added 
downSthen  strength  he  felt  sure  that  he  could  force  the  pas- 
« old  fox»  sage  0f  the  stream  above  the  American  position, 
when  by  turning  Washington's  right  flank  he  could  fold  him 
back  against  the  Delaware,  and  thus  compel  him  to  sur- 
render. Cornwallis  accordingly  went  to  bed  in  high  spirits. 
"  At  last  we  have  run  down  the  old  fox,"  said  he,  "  and  we 
will  bag  him  in  the  morning." 

The  situation  was  indeed  a  very  dangerous  one ;  but  when 
the  British  general  called  his  antagonist  an  old  fox,  he  did 
But  wash-  him  no  more  than  justice.  In  its  union  of  slyness 
pnt?p°aresa  witn  audacity,  the  movement  which  Washington 
checkmate  now  executed  strongly  reminds  one  of  "Stone- 
wall "  Jackson.     He  understood  perfectly  well  what  Corn- 


Washington  crossing  the  Delaware 


1777 


FIRST   BLOW  AT   THE    CENTRE 


243 


LORD    CORNWALLIS 


wallis  intended  to  do  ;  but  he 
knew  at  the  same  time  that 
detachments  of  the  British 
army  must  have  been  left  be- 
hind at  Princeton  and  New 
Brunswick  to  guard  the  stores. 
From  the  size  of  the  army  be- 
fore him  he  rightly  j  udged  that 
these  rear  detachments  must 
be  too  small  to  withstand  his 
own  force.  By  overwhelming 
one  or  both  of  them,  he  could 
compel  Cornwallis  to  retreat 
upon  New  York,  while  he  him- 
self might  take  up  an  impregnable  position  on  the  heights 
about  Morristown,  from  which  he  might  threaten  the  British 
line  and  hold  their  whole  army  in  check,  —  a  most  brilliant 
and  daring  scheme  for  a  commander  to  entertain  while  in 
such  a  perilous  position  as  Washington  was  that  night !  But 
the  manner  in  which  he  began  by  extricating  himself  was 
not  the  least  brilliant  part  of  the  manoeuvre.  All  night  long 
the  American  camp-fires  were  kept  burning  brightly,  and 
small  parties  were  busily  engaged  in  throwing  up  intrench- 
ments  so  near  the  Assunpink  that  the  British  sentinels 
could  plainly  hear  the  murmur  of  their  voices  and  the  thud 
of  the  spade  and  pickaxe.  While  this  was  going  on,  the 
whole  American  army  marched  swiftly  up  the  south  bank 
of  the  little  stream,  passed  around  Cornwallis' s  left  wing  to 
his  rear,  and  gained  the  road  to  Princeton.  Toward  sun- 
rise, as  the  British  detachment  was  coming  down  the  road 
from  Princeton  to  Trenton,  in  obedience  to  Cornwallis' s 
order,  its  van,  under  Colonel  Mawhood,  met  the  foremost 
column  of  Americans  approaching,  under  General  Mercer. 
As  he  caught  sight  of  the  Americans,  Mawhood  thought 
that  they  must  be  a  party  of  fugitives,  and  hastened  to 
intercept  them  ;  but  he  was  soon  undeceived.  The  Ameri- 
cans attacked  with  vigour,  and  a  sharp  fight  was  sustained, 


244  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  v 

with  varying  fortunes,  until  Mercer  was  pierced  by  a  bay- 
and  again  onet>  anc*  his  men  began  to  fall  back  in  some  con- 
b^yV?6  fusi°n-  Just  at  this  critical  moment  Washington 
at  Prince-  came  galloping  upon  the  field  and  rallied  the  troops, 
on'  an'3  and  as  the  entire  forces  on  both  sides  had  now 
come  up  the  fight  became  general.  In  a  few  minutes  the 
British  were  routed  and  their  line  was  cut  in  two  ;  one  half 
fleeing  toward  Trenton,  the  other  half  toward  New  Bruns- 
wick. There  was  little  slaughter,  as  the  whole  fight  did  not 
occupy  more  than  twenty  minutes.  The  British  lost  about 
200  in  killed  and  wounded,  with  300  prisoners  and  their 
cannon ;  the  American  loss  was  less  than  100. 

Shortly  before  sunrise,  the  men  who  had  been  left  in  the 


*\r 


. 


(^u^^yM&^cjzsT* 


camp  on  the  Assunpink  to  feed  the  fires  and  make  a  noise 
beat  a  hasty  retreat,  and  found  their  way  to  Princeton  by 
circuitous  paths.  When  Cornwallis  got  up,  he  could  hardly 
believe  his  eyes.  Here  was  nothing  before  him  but  an 
empty  camp :  the  American  army  had  vanished,  and  whither 
it  had  gone  he  could  not  imagine.     But  his  perplexity  was 


1777  FIRST   BLOW  AT  THE   CENTRE  245 

soon  relieved   by  the   booming  of   distant   cannon  on   the 
Princeton  road,   and  the  game  which  the   "  old  fox "  had 
played  him  all  at  once  became  apparent.     Nothing   General 
was  to  be  done  but  to  retreat  upon  New  Bruns-   J**"*** 

r  the  British 

wick  with  all  possible  haste,  and  save  the  stores  toward 
there.  His  road  led  back  through  Princeton,  and 
from  Mawhood's  fugitives  he  soon  heard  the  story  of  the 
morning's  disaster.  His  march  was  hindered  by  various 
impediments.  A  thaw  had  set  in,  so  that  the  little  streams 
had  swelled  into  roaring  torrents,  difficult  to  ford,  and  the 
American  army,  which  had  passed  over  the  road  before  day- 
break, had  not  forgotten  to  destroy  the  bridges.  By  the 
time  that  Cornwallis  and  his  men  reached  Princeton,  wet 
and  weary,  the  Americans  had  already  left  it,  but  they  had 
not  gone  on  to  New  Brunswick.  Washington  had  hoped  to 
seize  the  stores  there,  but  the  distance  was  eighteen  miles, 
his  men  were  wretchedly  shod  and  too  tired  to  march  rap- 
idly, and  it  would  not  be  prudent  to  risk  a  general  engage- 
ment when  his  main  purpose  could  be  secured  without 
one.  For  these  reasons,  Washington  turned  northward  to 
the  heights  of  Morristown,  while  Cornwallis  continued  his 
retreat  to  New  Brunswick.  A  few  days  later,  Putnam 
advanced  from  Philadelphia  and  occupied  Princeton,  thus 
forming  the  right  wing  of  the  American  army,  of  which  the 
main  body  lay  at  Morristown,  while  Heath's  division  on  the 
Hudson  constituted  the  left  wing.  Various  cantonments 
were  established  along  this  long  line.  On  the  5th,  George 
Clinton,  coming  down  from  Peekskill,  drove  the  British  out 
of  Hackensack  and  occupied  it,  while  on  the  same  day  a 
detachment  of  German  mercenaries  at  Springfield  was 
routed  by  a  body  of  militia.  Elizabethtown  was  then  taken 
by  General  Maxwell,  whereupon  the  British  retired  from 
Newark. 

Thus  in  a  brief  campaign  of  three  weeks  Washington  had 
rallied  the  fragments  of  a  defeated  and  broken  army,  fought 
two  successful  battles,  taken  nearly  2,000  prisoners,  and 
recovered  the  state  of  New  Jersey.     He  had  cancelled  the 


246  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  v 

disastrous  effects  of  Lee's  treachery,  and  replaced  things 
apparently  in  the  condition  in  which  the  fall  of  Fort  Wash- 
ington had  left  them.     Really  he  had  done  much  more  than 

this,  for  by  assuming  the  offensive  and  winning 
completely    victories   through   sheer  force  of   genius,  he  had 

completely  turned  the  tide  of  popular  feeling.  The 
British  generals  began  to  be  afraid  of  him,  while  on  the 
other  hand  his  army  began  to  grow  by  the  accession  of  fresh 
recruits.  In  New  Jersey,  the  enemy  retained  nothing  but 
New  Brunswick,  Amboy,  and  Paulus  Hook. 

On  the  25th  of  January  Washington  issued  a  proclama- 
tion declaring  that  all  persons  who  had  accepted  Lord  Howe's 
offer  of  protection  must  either  retire  within  the  British  lines 
or  come  forward  and  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
United  States.  Many  narrow-minded  people,  who  did  not 
look  with  favour  upon  a  close  federation  of  the  states,  com- 
mented severely  upon  the  form  of  this  proclamation  :  it  was 
too  national,  they  said.  But  it  proved  effective.  However 
lukewarm  may  have  been  the  interest  which  many  of  the 
Jersey  people  felt  in  the  war  when  their  soil  was  first  in- 
vaded, the  conduct  of  the  British  troops  had  been  such  that 
every  one  now  looked  upon  them  as  enemies.  They  had 
foraged  indiscriminately  upon  friend  and  foe ;  they  had  set 
fire  to  farmhouses,  and  in  one  or  two  instances  murdered 
peaceful  citizens.  The  wrath  of  the  people  had  waxed  so 
hot  that  it  was  not  safe  for  the  British  to  stir  beyond  their 
narrow  lines  except  in  considerable  force.  Their  foraging 
parties  were  waylaid  and  cut  off  by  bands  of  yeomanry,  and 
so  sorely  were  they  harassed  in  their  advanced  position  at 
New  Brunswick  that  they  often  suffered  from  want  pf 
food.  Many  of  the  German  mercenaries,  caring  nothing 
for  the  cause  in  which  they  had  been  forcibly  enlisted, 
began  deserting ;  and  in  this  they  were  encouraged  by 
Congress,  which  issued  a  manifesto  in  German,  making  a 
liberal  offer  of  land  to  any  foreign  soldier  who  should 
leave  the  British  service.  This  little  document  was  inclosed 
in  the  wrappers  in  which  packages  of  tobacco  were  sold, 


1777  FIRST   BLOW  AT   THE   CENTRE  247 

and  every  now  and  then  some  canny  smoker  accepted  the 
offer. 

Washington's  position  at  Morristown  was  so  strong  that 
there  was  no  hope  of  dislodging  him,  and  the  snow-blocked 
roads  made  the  difficulties  of  a  winter  campaign  so  great 
that  Howe  thought  best  to  wait  for  warm  weather  before 
doing  anything  more.  While  the  British  arms  were  thus 
held  in  check,  the  friends  of  America,  both  in  England  and 
on  the  continent  of  Europe,  were  greatly  encouraged.  From 
this  moment  Washington  was  regarded  in  Europe  as  a  first- 
rate  general.  Military  critics  who  were  capable  of  washing- 
understanding  his  movements  compared  his  bril-  g°p'esrb 
liant  achievements  with  his  slender  resources,  and  generalship 
discovered  in  him  genius  of  a  high  order.  Men  began  to  call 
him  "the  American  Fabius  ;  "  and  this  epithet  was  so  pleas- 
ing to  his  fellow-countrymen,  in  that  pedantic  age,  that  it 
clung  to  him  for  the  rest  of  his  life,  and  was  repeated  in 
newspapers  and  speeches  and  pamphlets  with  wearisome 
iteration.  Yet  there  was  something  more  than  Fabian  in 
Washington's  generalship.  For  wariness  he  has  never  been 
surpassed ;  yet,  as  Colonel  Stedman  observed,  in  his  ex- 
cellent contemporary  history  of  the  war,  the  most  remark- 
able thing  about  Washington  was  his  courage.  It  would  be 
hard  indeed  to  find  more  striking  examples  of  audacity  than 
he  exhibited  at  Trenton  and  Princeton.  Lord  Cornwallis 
was  no  mean  antagonist,  and  no  one  was  a  better  judge  of 
what  a  commander  might  be  expected  to  do  with  a  given 
stock  of  resources.  His  surprise  at  the  Assunpink  was  so 
great  that  he  never  got  over  it.  After  the  surrender  at 
Yorktown,  it  is  said  that  his  lordship  expressed  to  Washing- 
ton his  generous  admiration  for  the  wonderful  skill  which 
had  suddenly  hurled  an  army  four  hundred  miles,  from  the 
Hudson  river  to  the  James,  with  such  precision  and  such 
deadly  effect.  "But  after  all,"  he  added,  "your  excellency's 
achievements  in  New  Jersey  were  such  that  nothing  could 
surpass  them."  The  man  who  had  turned  the  tables  on 
him  at  the  Assunpink  he  could  well  believe  to  be  capable  of 
anything. 


248 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  V 


In  England  the  effect  of  the  campaign  was  very  serious. 
Not  long  before,  Edmund  Burke  had  despondingly  remarked 
that  an  army  which  was  always  obliged  to  refuse  battle 
could  never  expel  the  invaders ;  but  now  the  case  wore  a 
different  aspect.  Sir  William  Howe  had  not  so  much  to 
show  for  his  red  ribbon,  after  all.  He  had  taken  New  York, 
and  dealt  many  heavy  blows  with  his  overwhelming  force, 
unexpectedly  aided  by  foul  play  on  the  American  side ;  but 


=7 'L/J *JXAU4AsCL^cAa 


as  for  crushing  Washington  and  ending  the  war,  he  seemed 
farther  from  it  than  ever.  It  would  take  another  campaign 
to  do  this,— perhaps  many.  Lord  North,  who  had  little 
heart  for  the  war  at  any  time,  was  discouraged,  while  the 
king  and  Lord  George  Germain  were  furious  with  disap- 
pointment. "  It  was  that  unhappy  affair  of  Trenton,"  ob- 
served the  latter,  "that  blasted  our  hopes." 

In  France  the  interest  in  American  affairs  grew  rapidly. 
Louis  XVI.  had  no  love  for  Americans  or  for  rebels,  but 
revenge  for  the  awful  disasters  of  1758  and  1759  was  dear 


1777  FIRST   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE  249 

to  the  French  heart.  France  felt  toward  England  then  as 
she  feels  toward  Germany  now,  and  so  long  ago  as  the  time 
of  the  Stamp  Act,  Baron  Kalb  had  been  sent  on  a  secret 
mission  to  America,  to  find  out  how  the  people  regarded  the 
British  government.  The  policy  of  the  French  ministry 
was  aided  by  the  romantic  sympathy  for  America  which  was 
felt  in  polite  society.  Never  perhaps  have  the  opinions  cur- 
rent among  fashionable  ladies  and  gentlemen  been  so  directly 
controlled  by  philosophers  and  scholars  as  in  France  during 
the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Never  perhaps 
have  men  of  letters  exercised  such  mighty  influence  over 
their  contemporaries  as  Voltaire,  with  his  noble  enthusi- 
asm for  humanity,  and  Rousseau,  with  his  startling  political 
paradoxes,  and  the  writers  of  the  "  Encyclopedic,"  with 
their  revelations  of  new  points  of  view  in  science  and  in 
history.  To  such  men  as  these,  and  to  such  profound  polit- 
ical thinkers  as  Montesquieu  and  Turgot,  the  preservation 
of  English  liberty  was  the  hope  of  the  world;  but  they 
took  little  interest  in  the  British  crown  or  in  the  imperial 
supremacy  of  Parliament.  All  therefore  sympathized  with 
the  Americans  and  urged  on  the  policy  which  the  court 
for  selfish  reasons  was  inclined  to  pursue.  Vergennes,  the 
astute  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  had  for  some  time  been 
waiting  for  a  convenient  opportunity  to  take  part  in  the 
struggle,  but  as  yet  he  had  contented  himself  with  furnish- 
ing secret  assistance.  For 
more  than  a  year  he  had 
been  intriguing,  through 
Beaumarchais,  the  famous 
author  of  "  Figaro,"  with 
Arthur  Lee  (a  brother  of 
Richard  Henry  Lee),  who 
had  long  served  in  London  as  agent  for  Virginia.  Just 
before  the  Declaration  of  Independence  Vergennes  sent 
over  a  million  dollars  to  aid  the  American  cause.  Soon 
afterwards  Congress  sent  Silas  Deane  to  Paris,  and  presently 
ordered  Arthur  Lee  to  join  him  there.     In  October  Frank- 


250 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  V 


lin  was  also  sent  over,  and  the  three  were  appointed  com- 
missioners for  making  a  treaty  of  alliance  with  France. 

The  arrival  of  Franklin  was  the  occasion  of  great  excite- 
ment in  the  fashionable  world  of  Paris.     By  thinkers  like 

Diderot  and  D'Alembert 
he  was  regarded  as  the 
embodiment  of  practical 
wisdom.  To  many  he 
seemed  to  sum  up  in  him- 
self the  excellences  of  the 
American  cause,  —  justice, 
good  sense,  and  modera- 
tion. Voltaire  spoke  quite 
unconsciously  of  the  Amer- 
ican army  as  "Franklin's 
troops."  It  was  Turgot 
who  said  of  him,  in  a  line 
which  is  one  of  the  finest 
modern  specimens  of  epi- 
grammatic Latin,  "  Eripuit 
ccelo  fulmen,  sceptrumque 
tyrannis."  As  symbolizing  the  liberty  for  which  all  France 
was  yearning,  he  was  greeted  with  a  popular  enthusiasm 
such  as  perhaps  no  Frenchman  except  Voltaire  has  ever 
called  forth.  As  he  passed  along  the  streets,  the  shopkeep- 
ers rushed  to  their  doors  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  him,  while 
curious  idlers  crowded  the  sidewalk.  The  charm  of  his 
majestic  and  venerable  figure  seemed  heightened  by  the 
republican  simplicity  of  his  plain  brown  coat,  over  the 
shoulders  of  which  his  long  gray  hair  fell  carelessly,  inno- 
cent of  queue  or  powder.  His  portrait  was  hung  in  the 
shop-windows  and  painted  in  miniature  on  the  covers  of 
snuff-boxes.  Gentlemen  wore  "  Franklin  "  hats,  ladies'  kid 
gloves  were  dyed  of  a  "  Franklin  "  hue,  and  cotelettes  a  la 
Franklin  were  served  at  fashionable  dinners. 

As  the  first  fruits  of  Franklin's  negotiations,  the  French 
government  agreed  to  furnish  two  million  livres  a  year,  in 


<?5<^U~^2^ 


1777 


FIRST   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE 


25* 


M 

,5* 

5.  ' 

1 

E 

hI 

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HP          iWBB 

%    * 

IPS  §■ 

^'■"^rv-l^ 

#  #  J' 

^/  J* 

mMm^^*JJ^tiafr8ffi 

BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 


quarterly  instalments,  to  assist  the  American  cause.  Three 
ships,  laden  with  military  stores,  were  sent  over  to  America  : 
one  was  captured  by  a  British  cruiser,  but  the  other  two 
arrived  safely.  The  Americans  were  allowed  to  fit  out 
privateers  in  French  ports,  and  even  to  bring  in  and  sell 
their  prizes  there.  Besides  this  a  million  livres  were  ad- 
vanced to  the  commissioners  on  account  of  a  quantity  of 
tobacco  which  they  agreed  to  send  in  exchange.  Further 
than  this   France  was  not  yet  ready  to  go.     The  British 


252  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  v 

ambassador  had  already  begun  to  protest  against  the  viola- 
tion of  neutrality  involved  in  the  departure  of  privateers, 
and  France  was  not  willing  to  run  the  risk  of  open  war  with 
England  until  it  should  become  clear  that  the  Americans 
would  prove  efficient  allies.  The  king,  moreover,  sympa- 
thized with  George  III.,  and  hated  the  philosophers  whose 
opinions  swayed  the  French  people ;  and  in  order  to  ac- 
complish anything  in  behalf  of  the  Americans  he  had  to  be 
coaxed  or  bullied  at  every  step. 

But  though  the  French  government  was  not  yet  ready  to 
send  troops  to  America,  volunteers  were  not  wanting  who 
cast  in  their  lot  with  us  through  a  purely  disinterested 
enthusiasm.  At  a  dinner  party  in  Metz,  the  Marquis  de 
Lafayette,  then  a  boy  of  nineteen,  heard  the  news  from 
America,  and  instantly  resolved  to  leave  his  pleasant  home 
and  offer  his  services  to  Washington.  He  fitted  up  a  ship 
at  his  own  expense,  loaded  it  with  military  stores  furnished 
by  Beaumarchais,  and  set  sail  from  Bordeaux  on  the  26th 
of  April,  taking  with  him  Kalb  and  eleven  other  officers. 
While  Marie  Antoinette  applauded  his  generous  self-devo- 
tion, the  king  forbade  him  to  go,  but  he  disregarded  the 
order.  His  young  wife,  whom  he  deemed  it  prudent  to 
leave  behind,  he  consoled  with  the  thought  that  the  future 
welfare  of  all  mankind  was  at  stake  in  the  struggle  for  con- 
stitutional liberty  which  was  going  on  in  America,  and  that 
where  he  saw  a  chance  to  be  useful  it  was  his  duty  to  go. 
The  able  Polish  officers,  Pulaski  and  Kosciuszko,  had  come 
some  time  before. 

During  the  winter  season  at  Morristown,  Washington  was 
busy  in  endeavouring  to  recruit  and  reorganize  the  army. 
Up  to  this  time  the  military  preparations  of  Congress  had 
been  made  upon  a  ludicrously  inadequate  scale.  There  had 
been  no  serious  attempt  to  create  a  regular  army,  but  squads 
of  militia  had  been  enlisted  for  terms  of  three  or  six  months, 
as  if  there  were  any  likelihood  of  the  war  being  ended  within 
such  a  period.  The  rumour  of  Lord  Howe's  olive-branch 
policy  may  at  first  have  had  something  to  do  with  this,  and 


1777 


FIRST   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE 


253 


even  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence  had  made  further 
temporizing  impossible,  there  were  many  who  expected 
Washington  to  perform  miracles  and  thought  that  by  some 
crushing  blow  the  invaders  might  soon  be  brought  to  terms. 


But  the  events  of  the  autumn  had  shown  that  the  struggle 
was  likely  to  prove  long  and  desperate,  and  there  could  be 
no  doubt  as  to  the  imperative  need  of  a  regular  army.  To 
provide  such  an  army  was,  however,  no  easy  task.  The 
Continental  Congress  was  little  more  than  an  advisory  body 
of  delegates,  and  it  was  questionable  how  far  it  could  exer- 


254  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  v 

cise  authority  except  as  regarded  the  specific  points  which 
the  constituents  of  these  delegates  had  in  view  when  they 
chose  them.  Congress  could  only  recommend  to  the  dif- 
ferent states  to  raise  their  respective  quotas  of  men,  and 
each  state  gave  heed  to  such  a  request  according  to  its 
ability  or  its  inclination.  All  over  the  country  there  was 
then,  as  always,  a  deep-rooted  prejudice  against  standing 
armies.  Even  to-day,  with  our  population  of  seventy  mil- 
lions, a  proposal  to  increase  our  regular  army  to  fifty  thou- 
sand men,  for  the  more  efficient  police  of  the  Indian  districts 
in  Arizona  and  Montana,  has  been  greeted  by  the  press  with 
tirades  about  military  despotism.  A  century  ago  this  feeling 
was  naturally  much  stronger  than  it  is  to-day.  The  presence 
of  standing  armies  in  this  country  had  done  much  toward 
bringing  on  the  Revolution ;  and  it  was  not  until  it  had 
become  evident  that  we  must  either  endure  the  king's  regu- 
lars or  have  regulars  of  our  own  that  the  people  could  be 
made  to  adopt  the  latter  alternative.  Under  the  influence 
of  these  feelings,  the  state  militias  were  enlisted  for  very 
short  terms,  each  under  its  local  officers,  so  that  they  re- 
sembled a  group  of  little  allied  armies.  Such  methods  were 
fatal  to  military  discipline.  Such  soldiers  as  had  remained 
in  the  army  ever  since  it  first  gathered  itself  together  on 
the  day  of  Lexington  had  now  begun  to  learn  something  of 
military  discipline ;  but  it  was  impossible  to  maintain  it  in 
the  face  of  the  much  greater  number  who  kept  coming  and 
going  at  intervals  of  three  months.  With  such  fluctuations 
in  strength,  moreover,  it  was  difficult  to  carry  out  any  series 
of  military  operations.  The  Christmas  night  when  Wash- 
ington crossed  the  Delaware  was  the  most  critical  moment 
of  his  career  ;  for  the  terms  of  service  of  the  greater  part 
of  his  little  army  expired  on  New  Year's  Day,  and  but  for 
the  success  at  Trenton,  they  would  almost  certainly  have 
disbanded.  But  in  the  exultant  mood  begotten  of  this  vic- 
tory, they  were  persuaded  to  remain  for  some  weeks  longer, 
thus  enabling  Washington  to  recover  the  state  of  New  Jer- 
sey.    So  low  had  the  public  credit  sunk,  at  this  season  of 


1777 


FIRST   BLOW   AT   THE    CENTRE 


=55 


disaster,  that  Washington  pledged  his  private  fortune  for 
the  payment  of  these  men,  in  case  Congress  should  be  found 
wanting ;  and  his  example  was  followed  by  the  gallant  John 
Stark  and  other  officers.  Except  for  the  sums  raised  by 
Robert  Morris  of  Philadelphia,  even  Washington  could  not 
have  saved  the  country. 


°7y^u?ru 


Another  source  of  weakness  was  the  intense  dislike  and 
jealousy  with  which  the  militia  of  the  different  states  re- 
garded each  other.  Their  alliance  against  the  common 
enemy  had  hitherto  done  little  more  toward  awakening  a 
cordial  sympathy  between  the  states  than  the  alliance  of 


256  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  v 

Athenians  with  Lacedaemonians  against  the  Great  King  ac- 
complished toward  ensuring  peace  and  good-will  throughout 
the  Hellenic  world.  Politically  the  men  of  Virginia  had 
thus  far  acted  in  remarkable  harmony  with  the  men  of  New 
England,  but  socially  there  was  little  fellowship  between 
them.  In  those  days  of  slow  travel  the  plantations  of  Vir- 
ginia were  much  more  remote  from  Boston  than  they  now 
are  from  London,  and  the  generalizations  which  the  one 
people  used  to  make  about  the  other  were,  if  possible,  even 
more  crude  than  those  which  Englishmen  and  Americans 
are  apt  to  make  about  each  other  at  the  present  day.  In 
the  stately  elegance  of  the  Virginian  country  mansion  it 
seemed  right  to  sneer  at  New  England  merchants  and 
farmers  as  "shopkeepers"  and  "peasants,"  while  many  peo- 
ple in  Boston  regarded  Virginian  planters  as  mere  Squire 
Westerns.  Between  the  eastern  and  the  middle  states,  too, 
there  was  much  ill-will,  because  of  theological  differences 
and  boundary  disputes.  The  Puritan  of  New  Hampshire 
had  not  yet  made  up  his  quarrel  with  the  Churchman  of 
New  York  concerning  the  ownership  of  the  Green  Moun- 
tains ;  and  the  wrath  of  the  Pennsylvania  Quaker  waxed  hot 
against  the  Puritan  of  Connecticut  who  dared  claim  jurisdic- 
tion over  the  valley  of  Wyoming.  We  shall  find  such  ani- 
mosities bearing  bitter  fruit  in  personal  squabbles  among 
soldiers  and  officers,  as  well  as  in  removals  and  appointments 
of  officers  for  reasons  which  had  nothing  to  do  with  their 
military  competence.  Even  in  the  highest  ranks  of  the 
army  and  in  Congress  these  local  prejudices  played  their 
part  and  did  no  end  of  mischief. 

From  the  outset  Washington  had  laboured  with  Congress 
to  take  measures  to  obviate  these  alarming  difficulties.  In 
the  midst  of  his  retreat  through  the  Jerseys  he  declared  that 
"  short  enlistments  and  a  mistaken  dependence  upon  militia 
have  been  the  origin  of  all  our  misfortunes,"  and  at  the  same 
time  he  recommended  that  a  certain  number  of  battalions 
should  be  raised  directly  by  the  United  States,  comprising 
volunteers  drawn  indiscriminately  from  the  several  states. 


L  ^>^^j^yC^c^ 


i777  FIRST   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE  257 

These  measures  were  adopted  by  Congress,  and  at  the  same 
time  Washington  was  clothed  with  almost  dictatorial  powers. 
It  was  decided  that  the  army  of  state  troops  should  be  in- 
creased to  66,000  men,  divided  into  eighty-eight  battalions, 
of  which  Massachusetts  and  Virginia  were  each  to  contribute 
fifteen,  "Pennsylvania  twelve,  North  Carolina  nine,  Con- 
necticut eight,  South  Carolina  six,  New  York  and  New 
Jersey  four  each,  New  Hampshire  and  Maryland  three  each, 
Rhode  Island  two,  Delaware  and  Georgia  each  one."  The 
actual  enlistments  fell  very  far  short  of  this  number  of  men, 
and  the  proportions  assigned  by  Congress,  based  upon  the 
population  of  the  several  states,  were  never  heeded.  The 
men  now  enlisted  were  to  serve  during  the  war,  and  were  to 
receive  at  the  end  a  hundred  acres  of  land  each  as  bounty. 
Colonels  were  to  have  a  bounty  of  five  hundred  acres,  and 
inferior  officers  were  to  receive  an  intermediate  quantity. 
Even  with  these  offers  it  was  found  hard  to  persuade  men 
to  enlist  for  the  war,  so  that  it  was  judged  best  to  allow  the 
recruit  his  choice  of  serving  for  three  years  and  going  home 
empty-handed,  or  staying  till  the  war  should  end  in  the  hope 
of  getting  a  new  farm  for  one  of  his  children.  All  this 
enlisting  was  to  be  done  by  the  several  states,  which  were 
also  to  clothe  and  arm  their  recruits,  but  the  money  for  their 
equipments,  as  well  as  for  the  payment  and  support  of  the 
troops,  was  to  be  furnished  by  Congress.  Officers  were  to 
be  selected  by  the  states,  but  formally  commissioned  by 
Congress.  At  the  same  time  Washington  was  authorized 
to  raise  sixteen  battalions  of  infantry,  containing  12,000 
men,  three  regiments  of  artillery,  3,000  light  cavalry,  and  a 
corps  of  engineers.  These  forces  were  to  be  enlisted  under 
Washington's  direction,  in  the  name  of  the  United  States, 
and  were  to  be  taken  indiscriminately  from  all  parts  of  the 
country.  Their  officers  were  to  be  appointed  by  Washing- 
ton, who  was  furthermore  empowered  to  fill  all  vacancies 
and  remove  any  officer  below  the  rank  of  brigadier-general 
in  any  department  of  the  army.  Washington  was  also  au- 
thorized to  take  whatever  private  property  might  anywhere 


258  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  v 

be  needed  for  the  army,  allowing  a  fair  compensation  to  the 
owners  ;  and  he  was  instructed  to  arrest  at  his  own  discre- 
tion, and  hold  for  trial  by  the  civil  courts,  any  person  who 
should  refuse  to  take  the  continental  paper  money,  or  other- 
wise manifest  a  want  of  sympathy  with  the  American  cause. 
These  extraordinary  powers,  which  at  the  darkest  moment 
of  the  war  were  conferred  upon  Washington  for  a  period  of 
six  months,  occasioned  much  grumbling,  but  it  does  not 
appear  that  any  specific  difficulty  ever  arose  through  the 
way  in  which  they  were  exercised.  It  would  be  as  hard, 
perhaps,  to  find  any  strictly  legal  justification  for  the  crea- 
tion of  a  Continental  army  as  it  would  be  to  tell  just  where 
the  central  government  of  the  United  States  was  to  be 
found  at  that  time.  Strictly  speaking,  no  central  govern- 
ment had  as  yet  been  formed.  No  articles  of  confederation 
had  yet  been  adopted  by  the  states,  and  the  authority  of  the 
Continental  Congress  had  been  in  nowise  defined.  It  was 
generally  felt,  however,  that  the  Congress  now  sitting  had 
been  chosen  for  the  purpose  of  representing  the  states  in 
their  relations  to  the  British  crown.  This  Congress  had 
been  expressly  empowered  to  declare  the  states  independent 
of  Great  Britain,  and  to  wage  war  for  the  purpose  of  making 
good  its  declaration.  And  it  was  accordingly  felt  that  Con- 
gress was  tacitly  authorized  to  take  such  measures  as  were 
absolutely  needful  for  the  maintenance  of  the  struggle.  The 
enlistment  of  a  Continental  force  was  therefore  an  act  done 
under  an  implied  "war  power,"  something  like  the  power 
invoked  at  a  later  day  to  justify  the  edict  by  which  President 
Lincoln  emancipated  the  slaves.  The  thoroughly  English 
political  genius  of  the  American  people  teaches  them  when 
and  how  to  tolerate  such  anomalies,  and  has  more  than  once 
enabled  them  safely  to  cut  the  Gordian  knot  which  mere 
logic  could  not  untie  if  it  were  to  fumble  till  doomsday.  In 
the  second  year  after  Lexington  the  American  common- 
wealths had  already  entered  upon  the  path  of  their  "  mani- 
fest destiny,"  and  were  becoming  united  into  one  political 
body  faster  than  the  people  could  distinctly  realize. 


CHAPTER   VI 

SECOND    BLOW    AT    THE    CENTRE 

Ever  since  the  failure  of  the  American  invasion  of  Can- 
ada,  it    had   been   the   intention   of   Sir  Guy  Carleton,  in 
accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  ministry,  to  invade  New 
York  by  way  of  Lake  Champlain,  and  to  secure  the  Mohawk 
valley  and  the  upper  waters  of  the  Hudson.     The  summer 
of  1776  had  been  employed  by  Carleton  in  getting 
together  a  fleet  with  which  to  obtain  control  of   invades 
the  lake.     It  was  an  arduous  task.     Three  large 
vessels  were  sent  over  from  England,  and  proceeded  up  the 
St.  Lawrence  as  far  as  the  rapids,  where  they  were  taken 
to  pieces,   carried   overland   to    St.  John's,   and   there  put 
together  again.     Twenty  gunboats  and  more  than  two  hun- 
dred flat-bottomed  transports  were  built  at   Montreal,  and 
manned  with  700  picked  seamen  and  gunners ;  and  upon 
this  flotilla  Carleton  embarked  his  army  of  12,000  men. 

To  oppose  the  threatened  invasion,  Benedict  Arnold  had 
been  working  all  the  summer  with  desperate  energy.  In 
June  the  materials  for  his  navy  were  growing  in  the  forests 
of  Vermont,  while  his  carpenters  with  their  tools,  his  sail- 
makers  with  their  canvas,  and  his  gunners  with  their  guns  had 
mostly  to  be  brought  from  the  coast  towns  of  Connecticut 
and  Massachusetts.  By  the  end  of  September  he  had  built 
a  little  fleet  of  three  schooners,  two  sloops,  three  galleys, 
and  eight  gondolas,  and  fitted  it  out  with  seventy  guns  and 
such  seamen  and  gunners  as  he  could  get  together.  With 
this  flotilla  he  could  not  hope  to  prevent  the  ad-    .     t„ 

r  r  Arnold's 

vance  of  such  an  overwhelming  force  as  that  of  the   prepara- 

enemy.     The  most  he  could  do  would  be  to  worry 

and  delay  it,  besides  raising  the  spirits  of  the  people  by  the 


260  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap.  VI 

example  of  an  obstinate  and  furious  resistance.  To  allow 
Carleton  to  reach  Ticonderoga  without  opposition  would  be 
disheartening,  whereas  by  delay  and  vexation  he  might  hope 
to  dampen  the  enthusiasm  of  the  invader.  With  this  end 
in  view,  Arnold  proceeded  down  the  lake  far  to  the  north  of 
Crown  Point,  and  taking  up  a  strong  position  between  Val- 
cour  Island  and  the  western  shore,  so  that  both  his  wings 
were  covered  and  he  could  be  attacked  only  in  front,  he 
lay  in  wait  for  the  enemy.  James  Wilkinson,  who  twenty 
years  afterward  became  commander-in-chief  of  the  American 
army,  and  survived  the  second  war  with  England,  was  then 
at  Ticonderoga,  on  Gates's  staff.  Though  personally  hostile 
to  Arnold,  he  calls  attention  in  his  Memoirs  to  the  remark- 
able skill  exhibited  in  the  disposition  of  the  little  fleet  at 
Valcour  Island,  which  was  the  same  in  principle  as  that  by 
which  Macdonough  won  his  brilliant  victory,  not  far  from 
the  same  spot,  in  1814. 

On  the  nth  of  October,  Sir  Guy  Carleton's  squadron 
approached,  and  there  ensued  the  first  battle  fought  be- 
tween an  American  and  a  British  fleet.  At  sundown,  after 
Battle  of  a  desperate  fight  of  seven  hours'  duration,  the 
isknToct.  British  withdrew  out  of  range,  intending  to  renew 
IX>  J776  the  struggle  in  the  morning.  Both  fleets  had  suf- 
fered severely,  but  the  Americans  were  so  badly  cut  up 
that  Carleton  expected  to  force  them  to  surrender  the  next 
day.  But  Arnold  during  the  hazy  night  contrived  to  slip 
through  the  British  line  with  all  that  was  left  of  his  crip- 
pled flotilla,  and  made  away  for  Crown  Point  with  all  pos- 
sible speed.  Though  he  once  had  to  stop  to  mend  leaks, 
and  once  to  take  off  the  men  and  guns  from  two  gondolas 
which  were  sinking,  he  nevertheless,  by  dint  of  sailing  and 
kedging,  got  such  a  start  that  the  enemy  did  not  overtake 
him  until  the  next  day  but  one,  when  he  was  nearing 
Crown  Point.  While  the  rest  of  the  fleet,  by  Arnold's 
orders,  now  crowded  sail  for  their  haven,  he  in  his  schooner 
sustained  an  ugly  fight  for  four  hours  with  the  three  largest 
British   vessels,    one   of   which   mounted    eighteen   twelve- 


262  THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vi 

pounders.  His  vessel  was  wofully  cut  up,  and  her  deck 
covered  with  dead  and  dying  men,  when,  having  sufficiently 
delayed  the  enemy,  he  succeeded  in  running  her  aground 
in  a  small  creek,  where  he  set  her  on  fire,  and  she  perished 
gloriously,  with  her  flag  flying  till  the  flames  brought  it 
down.  Then  marching  through  woodland  paths  to  Crown 
Point,  where  his  other  vessels  had  now  disembarked  their 
men,  he  brought  away  his  whole  force  in  safety  to  Ticon- 
deroga.  When  Carleton  appeared  before  that  celebrated 
fortress,  finding  it  strongly  defended,  and  doubting  his 
ability  to  reduce  it  before  the  setting  in  of  cold  weather, 
he  decided  to  take  his  army  back  to  Canada,  satisfied  for 
the  present  with  having  gained  control  of  Lake  Champlain. 
This  sudden  retreat  of  Carleton  astonished  both  friend 
and  foe.  He  was  blamed  for  it  by  his  generals,  Burgoyne, 
Phillips,  and  Riedesel,  as  well  as  by  the  king;  and  when 
we  see  how  easily  the  fortress  was  seized  by  Phillips  in  the 
following  summer,  we  can  hardly  doubt  that  it  was  a  grave 
mistake. 

Arnold  had  now  won  an  enviable  reputation  as  the  "  brav- 
est of  the  brave."  In  his  terrible  march  through  the  wil- 
derness of  Maine,  in  the  assault  upon  Quebec,  and  in  the 
defence  of  Lake  Champlain,  he  had  shown  rare  heroism 
and  skill.  The  whole  country  rang  with  his  praises,  and 
Washington  regarded  him  as  one  of  the  ablest  officers  in 
Congress  tne  armv-  Yet  when  Congress  now  proceeded  to 
promotes  appoint  five  new  major-generals,  they  selected 
brigadiers  Stirling,  Mifflin,  St.  Clair,  Stephen,  and  Lincoln, 
noid,  Feb.  passing  over  Arnold,  who  was  the  senior  brigadier. 
*9>  1777  None  of  the  generals  named  could  for  a  moment 
be  compared  with  Arnold  for  ability,  and  this  strange  action 
of  Congress,  coming  soon  after  such  a  brilliant  exploit, 
naturally  hurt  his  feelings  and  greatly  incensed  him.  Arnold 
was  proud  and  irascible  in  temper,  but  on  this  occasion  he 
controlled  himself  manfully,  and  listened  to  Washington, 
who  entreated  him  not  to  resign.  So  astonished  was 
Washington  at  the  action  of  Congress  that  at  first  he  could 


1777  SECOND   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE  263 

not  believe  it.  He  thought  either  that  Arnold  must  really 
have  received  a  prior  appointment,  which  for  some  reason 
had  not  yet  been  made  public,  or  else  that  his  name  must 
have  been  omitted  through  some  unaccountable  oversight. 
It  turned  out,  however,  on  further  inquiry,  that  state  jeal- 
ousies had  been  the  cause  of  the  mischief.  The  reason 
assigned  for  ignoring  Arnold's  services  was  that  Connecti- 
cut had  already  two  major-generals,  and  was  not  in  fairness 
entitled  to  any  more!  But  beneath  this  alleged  reason 
there  lurked  a  deeper  reason,  likewise  founded  in  jealousies 
between  the  states.  The  intrigues  which  soon  after  dis- 
graced the  northern  army  and  imperilled  the  safety  of  the 
country  had  already  begun  to  bear  bitter  fruit.  Since  the 
beginning  of  the  war,  Major-General  Philip  Schuyler  had 
been  in  command  of  the  northern  department,  with  his  head- 
quarters at  Albany,  whence  his  ancestors  had  a  phiiip 
century  before  hurled  defiance  at  Frontenac.  His  Schuyler 
family  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  in  New  York,  and 
an  inherited  zeal  for  the  public  service  thrilled  in  every  drop 
of  his  blood.  No  more  upright  or  disinterested  man  could 
be  found  in  America,  and  for  bravery  and  generosity  he 
was  like  the  paladin  of  some  mediaeval  romance.  In  spite 
of  these  fine  qualities,  he  was  bitterly  hated  by  the  New 
England  men,  who  formed  a  considerable  portion  of  his 
army.  Beside  the  general  stupid  dislike  which  the  people 
of  New  York  and  of  New  England  then  felt  for  each  other, 
echoes  of  which  are  still  sometimes  heard  nowadays,  there 
was  a  special  reason  for  the  odium  which  was  heaped  upon 
Schuyler.  The  dispute  over  the  possession  of  Vermont  had 
now  raged  fiercely  for  thirteen  years,  and  Schuyler,  as  a 
member  of  the  New  York  legislature,  had  naturally  been 
zealous  in  urging  the  claims  of  his  own  state.  For  this 
crime  the  men  of  New  England  were  never  able  to  forgive 
him,  and  he  was  pursued  with  vindictive  hatred  until  his 
career  as  a  general  was  ruined.  His  orders  were  obeyed 
with  sullenness,  the  worst  interpretation  was  put  upon  every 
one  of  his  acts,  and  evil-minded  busybodies  were  continually 


264  THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vi 

pouring  into  the  ears  of  Congress  a  stream  of  tattle,  which 
gradually  wore  out  their  trust  in  him. 

The  evil  was  greatly  enhanced  by  the  fact  that  among 
the  generals  of  the  northern  army  there  was  one  envious 
creature  who  was  likely  to  take  Schuyler's  place  in  case  he 
should  be  ousted  from  it,  and  who  for  so  desirable  an  object 
was  ready  to  do  any  amount  of  intriguing.  The  part  sus- 
tained by  Charles  Lee  with  reference  to  Washington  was  to 
Horatio  some  extent  paralleled  here  by  the  part  sustained 
Gates  toward  Schuyler  by  Horatio  Gates.     There  is  in- 

deed no  reason  for  supposing  that  Gates  was  capable  of 
such  baseness  as  Lee  exhibited  in  his  willingness  to  play 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy ;  nor  had  he  the  nerve  for  such 
prodigious  treason  as  that  in  which  Arnold  engaged  after 
his  sympathies  had  become  alienated  from  the  American 
cause.  With  all  his  faults,  Gates  never  incurred  the  odium 
which  belongs  to  a  public  traitor.  But  his  nature  was 
thoroughly  weak  and  petty,  and  he  never  shrank  from  false- 
hood when  it  seemed  to  serve  his  purpose.  Unlike  Lee, 
he  was  comely  in  person,  mild  in  disposition,  and  courteous 
in  manner,  except  when  roused  to  anger  or  influenced  by 
spite,  when  he  sometimes  became  very  violent.  He  never 
gave  evidence  of  either  skill  or  bravery;  and  in  taking  part 
in  the  war  his  only  solicitude  seems  to  have  been  for  his 
own  personal  advancement.  In  the  course  of  his  campaign- 
ing with  the  northern  army,  he  seems  never  once  to  have 
been  under  fire,  but  he  would  incur  no  end  of  fatigue  to  get 
a  private  talk  with  a  delegate  in  Congress.  Like  many 
others,  he  took  a  high  position  at  the  beginning  of  the 
struggle  simply  because  he  was  a  veteran  of  the  Seven 
Years'  War,  having  been  one  of  the  officers  who  were 
brought  off  in  safety  from  the  wreck  of  Braddock's  army 
by  the  youthful  skill  and  prowess  of  Washington.  At  pres- 
ent, and  until  after  the  end  of  the  Saratoga  campaign,  such 
reputation  as  he  had  was  won  by  appropriating  the  fame 
which  was  earned  by  his  fellow-generals.  He  was  in  com- 
mand at  Ticonderoga  when  Arnold  performed  his  venture- 


1777 


SECOND    BLOW   AT   THE    CENTRE 


265 


some  feat  on  Lake  Champlain,  and  when  Carleton  made 
his  blunder  in  not  attacking  the  stronghold  ;  and  all  this 
story  Gates  told  to  Congress  as  the  story  of  an  advantage 
which  he  had  somehow  gained  over  Carleton,  at  the  same 
time  anxiously  inquiring  if  Congress  regarded  him,  in  his 
remote  position  at  Ticonderoga,  as  subject  to  the  orders 
of  Schuyler  at  Albany.     Finding  that  he  was  thus  regarded 


as  subordinate,  he  became  restive,  and  seized  the  earliest 
opportunity  of  making  a  visit  to  Congress.  The  retreat  of 
Carleton  enabled  Schuyler  to  send  seven  regiments  to  the 
relief  of  Washington  in  New  Jersey,  and  we  have  already 
seen  how  Gates,  on  arriving  with  this  reinforcement,  de- 
clined to  assist  personally  in  the  Trenton  campaign,  and 
took  the  occasion  to  follow  Congress  in  its  retreat  to  Bal- 
timore. 

The  winter  seems  to  have  been  spent  in  intrigue.    Knowing 


266  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  vi 

the  chief  source  of  Schuyler's  unpopularity,  Gates  made  it  a 
Gates  in-      point  to  declare,  as  often  and  as  loudly  as  possible, 

agfinTt  his  belief  that    the    State  °f    New  York  had  n0   title 

Schuyler  ^0  the  Green  Mountain  country.  In  this  way  he 
won  golden  opinions  from  the  people  of  New  England,  and 
rose  high  in  the  good  graces  of  such  members  of  Congress 
as  Samuel  Adams,  whose  noble  nature  was  slow  to  perceive 
his  meanness  and  duplicity.  The  failure  of  the  invasion  of 
Canada  had  caused  much  chagrin  in  Congress,  and  it  was 
sought  to  throw  the  whole  blame  of  it  upon  Schuyler  for 
having,  as  it  was  alleged,  inadequately  supported  Montgom- 
ery and  Arnold.  The  unjust  charge  served  to  arouse  a 
prejudice  in  many  minds,  and  during  the  winter  some 
irritating  letters  passed  between  Schuyler  and  Congress, 
until  late  in  March,  1777,  he  obtained  permission  to  visit 
Philadelphia  and  vindicate  himself.  On  the  22d  of  May, 
after  a  thorough  investigation,  Schuyler's  conduct  received 
the  full  approval  of  Congress,  and  he  was  confirmed  in  his 
command  of  the  northern  department,  which  was  expressly 
defined  as  including  Lakes  George  and  Champlain,  as  well 
as  the  valleys  of  the  Hudson  and  the  Mohawk. 

The  sensitive  soul  of  Gates  now  took  fresh  offence.  He 
had  been  sent  back  in  March  to  his  post  at  Ticonderoga, 
just  as  Schuyler  was  starting  for  Philadelphia,  and  he  flat- 
tered himself  with  the  hope  that  he  would  soon  be  chosen 
to  supersede  his  gallant  commander.  Accordingly  when  he 
found  that  Schuyler  had  been  reinstated  in  all  his  old  com- 
mand and  honours,  he  flew  into  a  rage,  refused  to  serve  in 
a  subordinate  capacity,  wrote  an  impudent  letter  to  Wash- 
Gates  visits  ington,  and  at  last  got  permission  to  visit  Congress 
Congress  agajnj  while  General  St.  Clair  was  appointed  in 
his  stead  to  the  command  of  the  great  northern  fortress. 
On  the  19th  of  June,  Gates  obtained  a  hearing  before  Con- 
gress, and  behaved  with  such  unseemly  violence  that  after 
being  repeatedly  called  to  order,  he  was  turned  out  of  the 
room,  amid  a  scene  of  angry  confusion.  Such  conduct 
should  naturally  have  ruined  his  cause,  but  he  had  made  so 


777 


SECOND   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE 


267 


many  powerful  friends  that  by  dint  of  more  or  less  apolo- 
getic talk  the  offence  was  condoned. 

Throughout  these  bickerings  Arnold  had  been  the  stead- 
fast friend  of  Schuyler ;  and  although  his  brilliant  exploits 
had  won  general  admiration,  he  did  not  fail  to  catch  some  of 
the  odium  so  plentifully  bestowed  upon  the  New  York  com- 


%v 


vt 


mander.     In  the  chaos  of  disappointment  and  wrath  which 
ensued  upon  the  disastrous  retreat  from  Canada  in  1776, 
when  everybody  was  eager  to  punish  somebody  else  for  the 
ill  fortune  which  was  solely  due  to  the  superior  resources  of 
the  enemy,  Arnold  came  in  for  his  share  of  blame. 
No  one  could  find  any  fault  with  his  military  con-   against 
duct,  but  charges  were  brought  against  him  on  the 
ground  of  some  exactions  of  private  property  at  Montreal 
which  had  been  made  for  the  support  of  the  army.      A 
thorough  investigation  of  the  case  demonstrated  Arnold's 


268  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  vi 

entire  uprightness  in  the  matter,  and  the  verdict  of  Con- 
gress, which  declared  the  charges  to  be  "cruel  and  un- 
just," was  indorsed  by  Washington.  Nevertheless,  in  the 
manifold  complications  of  feeling  which  surrounded  the 
Schuyler  trouble,  these  unjust  charges  succeeded  in  arous- 
ing a  prejudice  which  may  have  had  something  to  do  with 
the  slight  cast  upon  Arnold  in  the  appointment  of  the  new 
major-generals.  In  the  whole  course  of  American  history 
there  are  few  sadder  chapters  than  this.  Among  the  scan- 
dals of  this  eventful  winter  we  can  trace  the  beginnings  of 
the  melancholy  chain  of  events  which  by  and  by  resulted  in 
making  the  once  heroic  name  of  Benedict  Arnold  a  name 
of  opprobrium  throughout  the  world.  We  already  begin  to 
see,  too,  originating  in  Lee's  intrigues  of  the  preceding 
autumn,  and  nourished  by  the  troubles  growing  out  of  the 
Vermont  quarrel  and  the  ambitious  schemes  of  Gates,  the 
earliest  germs  of  that  faction  which  erelong  was  to  seek  to 
compass  the  overthrow  of  Washington  himself. 

For  the  present  the  injustice  suffered  by  Arnold  had  not 
wrought  its  darksome  change  in  him.  A  long  and  com- 
plicated series  of  influences  was  required  to  produce  that 
result.  To  the  earnest  appeal  of  Washington  that  he 
should  not  resign  he  responded  cordially,  declaring  that  no 
personal  considerations  should  induce  him  to  stay  at  home 
while  the  interests  of  his  country  were  at  stake.  He  would 
zealously  serve  under  his  juniors,  who  had  lately  been  raised 
Tryon's  above  him,  so  long  as  the  common  welfare  was  in 
agafnst10"  danger.  An  opportunity  for  active  service  soon 
Danbury  presented  itself.  Among  the  preparations  for  the 
coming  summer  campaign,  Sir  William  Howe  thought  it 
desirable  to  cripple  the  Americans  by  seizing  a  large  quan- 
tity of  military  stores  which  had  been  accumulated  at  Dan- 
bury  in  Connecticut.  An  expedition  was  sent  out,  very 
much  like  that  which  at  Lexington  and  Concord  had  ushered 
in  the  war,  and  it  met  with  a  similar  reception.  A  force  of 
2,000  men,  led  by  the  royal  governor,  Tryon,  of  North  Caro- 
lina fame,  landed  at   Fairfield,   and  marched  to   Danbury, 


1777  SECOND    BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE  269 

where  they  destroyed  the  stores  and  burned  a  large  part  of 
the  town.  The  militia  turned  out,  as  on  the  day  of  Lexing- 
ton, led  by  General  Wooster,  who  was  slain  in  the  first 
skirmish.  By  this  time  Arnold,  who  happened  to  Arnold  de_ 
be  visiting  his  children  in  New  Haven,  had  heard  feats  Tryon 
of  the  affair,  and  came  upon  the  scene  with  600  field,  April 
men.  At  Ridgefield  a  desperate  fight  ensued,  in  27' I777 
which  Arnold  had  two  horses  killed  under  him.  The  British 
were  defeated.  By  the  time  they  reached  their  ships,  200 
of  their  number  had  been  killed  or  wounded,  and,  with  the 
yeomanry  swarming  on  every  side,  they  narrowly  escaped 
capture.  For  his  share  in  this  action  Arnold  was  made 
a  major-general,  and  was  presented  by  Congress  with  a  fine 
horse ;  but  nothing  was  done  towards  restoring  him  to  his 
relative  rank,  nor  was  any  explanation  vouchsafed.  Wash- 
ington offered  him  the  command  of  the  Hudson  at  Peekskill, 
which  was  liable  to  prove  one  of  the  important  points  in  the 
ensuing  campaign ;  but  Arnold  for  the  moment  declined  to 
take  any  such  position  until  he  should  have  conferred  with 
Congress,  and  fathomed  the  nature  of  the  difficulties  by 
which  he  had  been  beset ;  and  so  the  command  of  this  im- 
portant position  was  given  to  the  veteran  Putnam. 

The  time  for  the  summer  campaign  was  now  at  hand. 
The  first  year  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States  was 
nearly  completed,  and  up  to  this  time  the  British  had  no- 
thing to  show  for  their  work  except  the  capture  of  the  city 
of  New  York  and  the  occupation  of  Newport.  The  army  of 
Washington,  which  six  months  ago  they  had  regarded  as 
conquered  and  dispersed,  still  balked  and  threatened  them 
from  its  inexpugnable  position  on  the  heights  of  Morristown. 
It  was  high  time  that  something  more  solid  should  be  ac- 
complished, for  every  month  of  adverse  possession  added 
fresh  weight  to  the  American  cause,  and  increased  the  prob- 
ability that  France  would  interfere. 

A  decisive  blow  was  accordingly  about  to  be  struck.  After 
careful  study  by  Lord  George  Germain,  and  much  consulta- 
tion with  General  Burgoyne,  who  had  returned  to  England 


270 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  VI 


The  mili- 
tary centre 
of  the 
United 
States  was 
the  state  of 
New  York 


for  the  winter,  it  was  decided  to  adhere  to  the  plan  of  the 
preceding  year,  with  slight  modifications.  The  great  object 
was  to  secure  firm  possession  of  the  entire  valley  of  the 
Hudson,  together  with  that  of  the  Mohawk.  It  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  at  this  time  the  inhabited  part  of  the 
state  of  New  York  consisted  almost  entirely  of  the  Mohawk 
and  Hudson  valleys.  All  the  rest  was  unbroken  wilderness, 
save  for  an  occasional  fortified  trading-post.  With  a  total 
population  of  about  170,000,  New  York  ranked 
seventh  among  the  thirteen  states;  just  after 
Maryland  and  Connecticut,  just  before  South  Caro- 
lina. At  the  same  time,  the  geographical  position 
of  New  York,  whether  from  a  commercial  or  from 
a  military  point  of  view,  was  as  commanding  then  as  it  has 

ever  been.  It  was  thought 
that  so  small  a  population, 
among  which  there  were 
known  to  be  many  Tories, 
might  easily  be  conquered 
and  the  country  firmly  held. 
The  people  of  New  Jersey 
and  Pennsylvania  were  re- 
garded as  lukewarm  sup- 
porters of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  and  it  was 
supposed  that  the  conquest 
of  New  York  might  soon 
be  followed  by  the  subjec- 
tion of  these  two  provinces. 
With  the  British  power  thus 
thrust,  like  a  vast  wedge,  through  the  centre  of  the  con- 
federacy, it  would  be  impossible  for  New  England  to  coop- 
erate with  the  southern  states,  and  it  was  hoped  that  the 
union  of  the  colonies  against  the  Crown  would  thus  be 
effectually  broken. 

With  this  object  of  conquering  New  York,  we  have  seen 
Carleton,   in   1776,  approaching  through  Lake   Champlain, 


GENERAL    BURGOYNE 


i777  SECOND   BLOW  AT   THE   CENTRE  271 

while  Howe  was  wresting  Manhattan  Island  from  Washing- 
ton. But  the  plan  was  imperfectly  conceived,  and  the  coop- 
eration was  feeble.  How  feeble  it  was  is  well  shown  by  the 
fact  that  Carleton's  ill-judged  retreat  from  Crown  Point 
enabled  Schuyler  to  send  reinforcements  to  Washington  in 
time  to  take  part  in  the  great  strokes  at  Trenton  and  Prince- 
ton. Something, 
however,         had 

)fSs>?y ^sr7 s^fr  4L*s^     been  accom- 

plished.   In  spite 


^ 


of  Arnold's  des- 
perate resistance 
and  Washington's  consummate  skill,  the  enemy  had  gained 
a  hold  upon  both  the  northern  and  the  southern  ends  of 
the  long  line.  But  this  obstinate  resistance  served  to  some 
extent  to  awaken  the  enemy  to  the  arduous  character  of 
the  problem.  The  plan  was  more  carefully  studied,  a  second 
and  it  was  intended  that  this  time  the  cooperation  »troekat 
should  be  more  effectual.  In  order  to  take  posses-  xh/pTanof 
sion  of  the  whole  state  by  one  grand  system  of  campaign 
operations,  it  was  decided  that  the  invasion  should  be  con- 
ducted by  three  distinct  armies  operating  upon  converging 
lines.  A  strong  force  from  Canada  was  to  take  Ticonder- 
oga,  and  proceed  down  the  line  of  the  Hudson  to  Albany. 
This  force  was  now  to  be  commanded  by  General  Burgoyne, 
while  his  superior  officer,  General  Carleton,  remained  at 
Quebec.  A  second  and  much  smaller  force,  under  Colonel 
St.  Leger,  was  to  go  up  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Lake  Ontario, 
land  at  Oswego,  and,  with  the  aid  of  Sir  John  Johnson  and 
the  Indians,  reduce  Fort  Stanwix ;  after  which  he  was  to 
come  down  the  Mohawk  valley  and  unite  his  forces  with 
those  of  Burgoyne.  At  the  same  time,  Sir  William  Howe 
was  to  ascend  the  Hudson  with  the  main  army,  force  the 
passes  of  the  Highlands  at  Peekskill,  and  effect  a  junction 
with  Burgoyne  at  Albany.  The  junction  of  the  three  armies 
was  expected  to  complete  the  conquest  of  New  York,  and 
to  insure  the  overthrow  of  American  independence. 


272  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  vi 

Such  was  the  plan  of  campaign  prepared  by  the  ministry. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  was  carefully  studied,  or  that, 
if  successful,  it  would  have  proved  very  disastrous  to  the 
Americans.  There  is  room  for  very  grave  doubt,  however, 
as  to  whether  it  was  the  most  judicious  plan  to  adopt.  The 
method  of  invading  any  country  by  distinct  forces  operating 
upon  converging  lines  is  open  to  the  objection  that  either 
force  is  liable  to  be  separately  overwhelmed  without  the 
possibility  of  reinforcement  from  the  other.  Such 
was  un-  a  plan  is  prudent  only  when  the  invaded  country 
has  good  roads,  and  when  the  invaders  have  a  great 
superiority  in  force,  as  was  the  case  when  the  allied  armies 
advanced  upon  Paris  in  1 8 14.  In  northern  and  central  New 
York,  in  1777,  the  conditions  were  very  unfavourable  to  such 
a  plan.  The  distances  to  be  traversed  were  long,  and  the 
roads  were  few  and  bad.  Except  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
bourhood of  Albany  and  Saratoga,  the  country  was  covered 
with  the  primeval  forest,  through  which  only  the  trapper 
and  the  savage  could  make  their  way  with  speed.  The 
Americans,  too,  had  the  great  advantage  of  operating  upon 
interior  lines.  It  was  difficult  for  Burgoyne  at  Fort  Edward, 
St.  Leger  before  Fort  Stanwix,  and  Howe  in  the  city  of 
New  York  to  communicate  with  each  other  at  all ;  it  was 
impossible  for  them  to  do  so  promptly ;  whereas  nothing 
could  be  easier  than  for  Washington  at  Morristown  to  reach 
Putnam  at  Peekskill,  or  for  Putnam  to  forward  troops  to 
Schuyler  at  Albany,  or  for  Schuyler  to  send  out  a  force  to 
raise  the  siege  of  Fort  Stanwix.  In  view  of  these  considera- 
tions, it  seems  probable  that  Lord  George  Germain  would 
have  acted  more  wisely  if  he  had  sent  Burgoyne  with  his 
army  directly  by  sea  to  reinforce  Sir  William  Howe.  The 
army  thus  united,  and  numbering  more  than  30,000  men, 
would  have  been  really  formidable.  If  they  had  undertaken 
to  go  up  the  river  to  Albany,  it  would  have  been  hard  to 
prevent  them.  If  their  united  presence  at  Albany  was  the 
great  object  of  the  campaign,  there  was  no  advantage  in 
sending  one  commander  to  reach  it  by  a  difficult  and  dan- 


'      J&5         >  West  Point  J^S*  O  S 

#f.    iJK         ^|Peekskiliy  i 


BURGOYNE'S    INVASION    OF    NEW  YORK,  JULY-OCTOBER,  1777 


274  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vi 

gerous  overland  march.  The  Hudson  is  navigable  by  large 
vessels  all  the  way  to  Albany,  and  by  advancing  in  this  way 
the  army  might  have  preserved  its  connections  ;  and  what- 
ever disaster  might  have  befallen,  it  would  have  been  diffi- 
cult for  the  Americans  to  surround  and  capture  so  large  a 
force.  Once  arrived  at  Albany,  the  expedition  of  St.  Leger 
might  have  set  out  from  that  point  as  a  matter  of  subse- 
quent detail,  and  would  have  had  a  base  within  easy  distance 
upon  which  to  fall  back  in  case  of  defeat. 

It  does  not  appear,  therefore,  that  there  were  any  advan- 
tages to  be  gained  by  Burgoyne's  advance  from  the  north 
which  can  be  regarded  as  commensurate  with  the  risk  which 
he  incurred.  To  have  transferred  the  northern  army  from 
the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Hudson  by  sea  would  have  been 
far  easier  and  safer  than  to  send  it  through  a  hundred  miles 
of  wilderness  in  northern  New  York  ;  and  whatever  it  could 
have  effected  in  the  interior  of  the  state  could  have  been 
done  as  well  in  the  former  case  as  in  the  latter.  But  these 
considerations  do  not  seem  to  have  occurred  to  Lord  George 
Germain.  In  the  wars  with  the  French,  the  invading 
armies  from  Canada  had  always  come  by  way  of  Lake 
Champlain,  so  that  this  route  was  accepted  without  ques- 
tion, as  if  consecrated  by  long  usage.  Through  a  similar 
association  of  ideas  an  exaggerated  importance  was  attached 
Germain's  to  the  possession  of  Ticonderoga.  The  risks  of 
fatal  error  ^q  enterprise,  moreover,  were  greatly  underesti- 
mated. In  imagining  that  the  routes  of  Burgoyne  and  St. 
Leger  would  lie  through  a  friendly  country,  the  ministry 
fatally  misconceived  the  whole  case.  There  was,  indeed,  a 
powerful  Tory  party  in  the  country,  just  as  in  the  days  of 
Robert  Bruce  there  was  an  English  party  in  Scotland,  just 
as  in  the  days  of  Miltiades  there  was  a  Persian  party  in 
Attika.  But  no  one  has  ever  doubted  that  the  victors  at 
Marathon  and  at  Bannockburn  went  forth  with  a  hearty 
godspeed  from  their  fellow-countrymen  ;  and  the  obstinate 
resistance  encountered  by  St.  Leger,  within  a  short  dis- 
tance of  Johnson's   Tory   stronghold,   is  an  eloquent  com- 


1777 


SECOND   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE 


275 


RUINS    OF    TICONDEROGA    IN    I5l< 


mentary  upon  the  error  of  the  ministry  in  their  estimate  of 
the  actual  significance  of  the  loyalist  element  on  the  New 
York  frontier. 

It  thus  appears  that  in  the  plan  of  a  triple  invasion  upon 
converging  lines  the  ministry  were  dealing  with  too  many 
unknown  quantities.     They  were  running  a  prodi- 
gious risk  for  the  sake  of  an  advantage  which  in   unknown 
itself  was  extremely  open  to  question  ;  for  should  it   quai 
turn  out  that  the  strength  of  the  Tory  party  was  not  suffi- 
ciently great  to  make  the  junction  of  the  three  armies  at 
Albany  at  once  equivalent  to  the  complete  conquest  of  the 
state,  then  the  end  for  which  the  campaign  was  undertaken 
could   not    be    secured   without    supplementary  campaigns, 
Neither  a  successful  march  up  and  down  the  Hudson  river 
nor  the  erection  of  a  chain  of  British  fortresses   on  that 
river  could  effectually  cut  off  the  southern  communications 
of  New  England,  unless  all  military  resistance  were  finally 


276  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vi 

crushed  in  the  state  of  New  York.  The  surest  course  for 
the  British,  therefore,  would  have  been  to  concentrate  all 
their  available  force  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson,  and  con- 
tinue to  make  the  destruction  of  Washington's  army  the 
chief  object  of  their  exertions.  In  view  of  the  subtle  genius 
which  he  had  shown  during  the  last  campaign,  that  would 
have  been  an  arduous  task ;  but,  as  events  showed,  they  had 
to  deal  with  his  genius  all  the  same  on  the  plan  which  they 
adopted,  and  at  a  great  disadvantage. 

Another  point  which  the  ministry  overlooked  was  the 
effect  of  Burgoyne's  advance  upon  the  people  of  New  Eng- 
land. They  could  reasonably  count  upon  alarming  the  yeo- 
Danger  manry  of  New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts  by  a 
England*  bold  stroke  upon  the  Hudson,  but  they  failed  to 
ignored  see  th^  this  alarm  would  naturally  bring  about  a 
rising  that  would  be  very  dangerous  to  the  British  cause. 
Difficult  as  it  was  at  that  time  to  keep  the  Continental  army 
properly  recruited,  it  was  not  at  all  difficult  to  arouse  the 
yeomanry  in  the  presence  of  an  immediate  danger.  In  the 
western  parts  of  New  England  there  were  scarcely  any 
Tories  to  complicate  the  matter ;  and  the  flank  movement 
by  the  New  England  militia  became  one  of  the  most  for- 
midable features  in  the  case. 

But  whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  merits  of  Lord 
George's  plan,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  its  success  was 
absolutely  dependent  upon  the  harmonious  cooperation  of 
all  the  forces  involved  in  it.  The  ascent  of  the  Hudson  by 
Sir  William  Howe,  with  the  main  army,  was  as  essential  a 
part  of  the  scheme  as  the  descent  of  Burgoyne  from  the 
north  ;  and  as  the  two  commanders  could  not  easily  com- 
municate with  each  other,  it  was  necessary  that  both  should 
be  strictly  bound  by  their  instructions.  At  this  point  a 
fatal  blunder  was  made.  Burgoyne  was  expressly  directed 
to  follow  the  prescribed  line  down  the  Hudson,  whatever 
might  happen,  until  he  should  effect  his  junction  with  the 
main  army.  On  the  other  hand,  no  such  unconditional 
orders  were  received  by  Howe.     He  understood  the  plan  of 


1777  SECOND    BLOW   AT   THE    CENTRE  277 

campaign,  and  knew  that  he  was  expected  to  ascend  the 
river  in  force  ;  but  he  was  left  with  the  usual  discretionary 
power,  and  we  shall  presently  see  what  an  impru-  The  dis- 
dent  use  he  made  of  it.  The  reasons  for  this  in-  SJj^Jw 
consistency  on  the  part  of  the  ministry  were  for  a  sent 
long  time  unintelligible  ;  but  a  memorandum  of  Lord  Shel- 
burne,  lately  brought  to  light  by  Lord  Edmund  Fitzmaurice, 
has  solved  the  mystery.  It  seems  that  a  dispatch,  contain- 
ing positive  and  explicit  orders  for  Howe  to  ascend  the 
Hudson,  was  duly  drafted,  and,  with  many  other  papers, 
awaited  the  minister's  signature.  Lord  George  Germain, 
being  on  his  way  to  the  country,  called  at  his  office  to  sign 
the  dispatches ;  but  when  he  came  to  the  letter  addressed 
to  General  Howe,  he  found  it  had  not  been  "fair  copied." 
Lord  George,  like  the  old  gentleman  who  killed  himself  in 
defence  of  the  great  principle  that  crumpets  are  wholesome, 
never  would  be  put  out  of  his  way  by  anything.  Unwilling 
to  lose  his  holiday,  he  hurried  off  to  the  green  meadows  of 
Kent,  intending  to  sign  the  letter  on  his  return.  But  when 
he  came  back  the  matter  had  slipped  from  his  mind.  The 
document  on  which  hung  the  fortunes  of  an  army,  and  per- 
haps of  a  nation,  got  thrust  unsigned  into  a  pigeon-hole, 
where  it  was  duly  discovered  some  time  after  the  disaster  at 
Saratoga  had  become  part  of  history. 

Happy  in  his  ignorance  of  the  risks  he  was  assuming, 
Burgoyne  took  the  field  about  the  1st  of  June,  with  an  army 
of  7,902  men,  of  whom  4,135  were  British  regulars.  His 
German  troops  from  Brunswick,  3,116  in  number,  were  com- 
manded by  Baron  Riedesel,  an  able  general,  whose  accom- 
plished wife  has  left  us  such  a  picturesque  and  charming 
description  of  the  scenes  of  this  adventurous  campaign.  Of 
Canadian  militia  there  were  148,  and  of  Indians  503.  The 
regular  troops,  both  German  and  English,  were  superbly 
trained  and  equipped,  and  their  officers  were  selected  with 
especial  care.  Generals  Phillips  and  Fraser  were  regarded 
as  among  the  best  officers  in  the  British  service.     On  the 


278 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  VI 


second  anniversary  of  Bunker  Hill  this  army  began  crossing 
Burgoyne  the  lake  to  Crown  Point ;  and  on  the  1st  of  July 
u^n"?!-  fc  appeared  before  Ticonderoga,  where  St.  Clair 
conderoga  was  posted  with  a  garrison  of  3,000  men.  Since  its 
capture  by  Allen,  the  fortress  had  been  carefully  strength- 
ened, until  it  was  now  believed  to  be  impregnable.  But 
while  no  end  of  time  and  expense  had  been  devoted  to  the 
fortifications,  a  neighbouring  point  which  commands  the 
whole  position  had  been  strangely  neglected.  A  little  less 
than  a  mile  south  of  Ticonderoga,  the  narrow  mountain  ridge 
between  the  two  lakes  ends  abruptly  in  a  bold  crag,  which 


zA,i2x)c*i<l&. 


rises  600  feet  sheer  over  the  blue  water.  Practised  eyes  in 
the  American  fort  had  already  seen  that  a  hostile  battery 
Phillips  planted  on  this  eminence  would  render  their  strong- 
hold untenable ;  but  it  was  not  believed  that  siege- 
guns  could  be  dragged  up  the  steep  ascent,  and  so, 
in  spite  of  due  warning,  the  crag  had  not  been  secured  when 


seizes 

Mount 

Defiance 


1777  SECOND   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE  279 

the  British  army  arrived.  General  Phillips  at  once  saw  the 
value  of  the  position,  and,  approaching  it  by  a  defile  that 
was  screened  from  the  view  of  the  fort,  worked  night  and 
day  in  breaking  out  a  pathway  and  dragging  up  cannon. 
"  Where  a  goat  can  go,  a  man  may  go ;  and  where  a  man 
can  go,  he  can  haul  up  a  gun,"  argued  the  gallant  general. 


Great  was  the  astonishment  of  the  garrison  when,  on  the 
morning  of  July  5th,  they  saw  red  coats  swarming  on  the 
hill,  which  the  British,  rejoicing  in  their  exploit,  now  named 
Mount  Defiance.     There  were  not  only  red  coats  there,  but 
brass  cannon,  which  by  the  next  day  would  be  ready  for 
work.    Ticonderoga  had  become  a  trap,  from  which   St  claJr 
the   garrison  could   not   escape   too   quickly.      A   abandons 
council  of  war  was  held,  and  under  cover  of  night   oga,  July 
St.  Clair  took  his  little  army  across  the  lake  and    5' I?77 
retreated  upon  Castleton  in  the  Green  Mountains.     Such 
guns  and  stores  as  could  be  saved,  with  the  women  and 
wounded  men,  were  embarked  in  200  boats,  and  sent,  under 


280  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vi 

a  strong  escort,  to  the  head  of  the  lake,  whence  they  con- 
tinued their  retreat  to  Fort  Edward  on  the.  Hudson.  About 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning  a  house  accidentally  took  fire, 
and  in  the  glare  of  the  flames  the  British  sentinels  caught  a 
glimpse  of  the  American  rear-guard  just  as  it  was  vanishing 
in  the  sombre  depths  of  the  forest.  Alarm  guns  were  fired, 
and  in  less  than  an  hour  the  British  flag  was  hoisted  over 
the  empty  fortress,  while  General  Fraser,  with  900  men,  had 
started  in  hot  pursuit  of  the  retreating  Americans.  Riedesel 
was  soon  sent  to  support  him,  while  Burgoyne,  leaving  nearly 
1,000  men  to  garrison  the  fort,  started  up  the  lake  with  the 
Battle  of  mam  body  of  the  army.  On  the  morning  of  the 
Hubbard-  7th,  General  Fraser  overtook  the  American  rear- 
guard of  1,000  men,  under  Colonels  Warner  and 
Francis,  at  the  village  of  Hubbardton,  about  six  miles  be- 
hind the  main  army.  A  fierce  fight  ensued,  in  which  Fraser 
was  worsted,  and  had  begun  to  fall  back,  with  the  loss  of 
one  fifth  of  his  men,  when  Riedesel  came  up  with  his  Ger- 
mans, and  the  Americans  were  put  to  flight,  leaving  one 
third  of  their  number  killed  or  wounded.  This  obstinate 
resistance  at  Hubbardton  served  to  check  the  pursuit,  and 
five  days  later  St.  Clair  succeeded,  without  further  loss,  in 
reaching  Fort  Edward,  where  he  joined  the  main  army  under 
Schuyler. 

Up  to  this  moment,  considering  the  amount  of  work  done 
and  the  extent  of  country  traversed,  the  loss  of  the  British 
had  been  very  small.  They  began  to  speak  contemptuously 
One  swai-  of  their  antagonists,  and  the  officers  amused  them- 
not  make  a  selyes  by  laying  wagers  as  to  the  precise  number 
summer  0f  dayS  ft  would  take  them  to  reach  Albany.  In 
commenting  on  the  failure  to  occupy  Mount  Defiance,  Bur- 
goyne made  a  general  statement  on  the  strength  of  a  single 
instance,  —  which  is  the  besetting  sin  of  human  reasoning. 
"  It  convinces  me,"  said  he,  "  that  the  Americans  have  no 
men  of  military  science."  Yet  General  Howe  at  Boston,  in 
neglecting  to  occupy  Dorchester  Heights,  had  made  just 
the  same  blunder,   and  with  less  excuse ;   for  no  one  had 


282  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vi 

ever  doubted  that  batteries  might  be  placed  there  by  some- 
body. 

In  England  the  fall  of  Ticonderoga  was  greeted  with  ex- 
The  king's  citation,  as  the  death-blow  to  the  American  cause, 
glee  Horace  Walpole  tells  how  the  king  rushed  into 

the  queen's  apartment,  clapping  his  hands  and  shouting,  "  I 
have  beat  them  !  I  have  beat  all  the  Americans !  "  Peo- 
ple began  to  discuss  the  best  method  of  reestablishing  the 
royal  governments  in  the  "  colonies."  In  America  there 
was  general   consternation.     St.   Clair  was  greeted  with  a 

storm  of  abuse.  John  Adams,  then  president  of 
John  the  Board  of  War,  wrote,  in  the  first  white  heat 

of  indignation,  "  We  shall  never  be  able  to  defend 
a  post  till  we  shoot  a  general ! "  Schuyler,  too,  as  com- 
mander of  the  department,  was  ignorantly  and  wildly 
blamed,  and  his  political  enemies  seized  upon  the  occasion 
to  circulate  fresh  stories  to  his  discredit.  A  court-martial 
in  the  following  year  vindicated  St.  Clair's  prudence  in  giving 
up  an  untenable  position  and  saving  his  army  from  capture. 
The  verdict  was  just,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  failure 
to  fortify  Mount  Defiance  was  a  grave  error  of  judgment, 
for  which  the  historian  may  fairly  apportion  the  blame  be- 
tween St.  Clair  and  Gates.  It  was  Gates  who  had  been  in 
command  of  Ticonderoga  in  the  autumn  of  1776,  when  an 
attack  by  Carleton  was  expected,  and  his  attention  had  been 
called  to  this  weak  point  by  Colonel  Trumbull,  whom  he 
laughed  to  scorn.  Gates  had  again  been  in  command  from 
March  to  June.  St.  Clair  had  taken  command  about  three 
weeks  before  Burgoyne's  approach  ;  he  had  seriously  con- 
sidered the  question  of  fortifying  Mount  Defiance,  but  had 

not  been  sufficiently  prompt.  In  no  case  could 
chiefly  to      any  blame  attach  to  Schuyler.     Gates  was  more  at 

fault  than  any  one  else,  but  he  did  not  happen  to 
be  at  hand  when  the  catastrophe  occurred,  and  accordingly 
people  did  not  associate  him  with  it.  On  the  contrary,  amid 
the  general  wrath,  the  loss  of  the  northern  citadel  was 
alleged  as  a  reason  for  superseding  Schuyler  by  Gates ;  for 


1777  SECOND   BLOW  AT   THE   CENTRE  283 

if  he  had  been  there,  it  was  thought  that  the  disaster  would 
have  been  prevented. 

The  irony  of  events,  however,  alike  ignoring  American 
consternation  and  British  glee,  showed  that  the  capture  of 
Ticonderoga  was  not  to  help  the  invaders  in  the  least.  On 
the  contrary,  it  straightway  became  a  burden,  for  it  detained 
an  eighth  part  of  Burgoyne's  force  in  garrison  at  a  time 


when  he  could  ill  spare  it.     Indeed,  alarming  as  his  swift 
advance  had  seemed  at  first,  Burgoyne's  serious    B  ,s 

difficulties  were  now  just  beginning,  and  the  harder   difficulties 
he  laboured  to  surmount  them  the  more  completely 
did  he  work  himself  into  a  position  from  which  it  was  impos- 


284  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vi 

sible  either  to  advance  or  to  recede.  On  the  10th  of  July  his 
whole  army  had  reached  Skenesborough  (now  Whitehall), 
at  the  head  of  Lake  Champlain.  From  this  point  to  Fort 
Edward,  where  the  American  army  was  encamped,  the  dis- 
tance was  twenty  miles  as  the  crow  flies  ;  but  Schuyler  had 
been  industriously  at  work  with  those  humble  weapons  the 
axe  and  the  crowbar,  which  in  warfare  sometimes  prove 
mightier  than  the  sword.  The  roads,  bad  enough  at  their 
best,  were  obstructed  every  few  yards  by  huge  trunks  of 
fallen  trees,  that  lay  with  their  boughs  interwoven.  Wher- 
ever the  little  streams  could  serve  as  aids  to  the  march,  they 
were  choked  up  with  stumps  and  stones ;  wherever  they 
served  as  obstacles  which  needed  to  be  crossed,  the  bridges 
were  broken  down.  The  country  was  such  an  intricate  laby- 
rinth of  creeks  and  swamps  that  more  than  forty  bridges 
had  to  be  rebuilt  in  the  course  of  the  march.  Under  these 
circumstances,  Burgoyne's  advance  must  be  regarded  as  a 
marvel  of  celerity.  He  accomplished  a  mile  a  day,  and 
reached  Fort  Edward  on  the  30th  of  July. 

In  the  mean  time  Schuyler  had  crossed  the  Hudson,  and 
Schuyler  slowly  fallen  back  to  Stillwater.  For  this  retro- 
uatesyFort"  gra-de  movement  fresh  blame  was  visited  upon  him 
Edward  by  the  general  public,  which  at  all  times  is  apt  to 
suppose  that  a  war  should  mainly  consist  of  bloody  battles, 
and  which  can  seldom  be  made  to  understand  the  strategic 
value  of  a  retreat.  The  facts  of  the  case  were  also  misun- 
derstood. Fort  Edward  was  supposed  to  be  an  impregnable 
stronghold,  whereas  it  was  really  commanded  by  highlands. 
The  Marquis  de  Chastellux,  who  visited  it  somewhat  later, 
declared  that  it  could  be  taken  at  any  time  by  500  men 
with  four  siege-guns.  Now  for  fighting  purposes  an  open 
field  is  much  better  than  an  untenable  fortress.  If  Schuyler 
had  stayed  in  Fort  Edward,  he  would  probably  have  been 
forced  to  surrender ;  and  his  wisdom  in  retreating  is  further 
shown  by  the  fact  that  every  moment  of  delay  counted  in 
his  favour.  The  militia  of  New  York  and  New  England 
were  already  beating  to  arms.     Some  of  those  yeomen  who 


i777  SECOND   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE  285 

were  with  the  army  were  allowed  to  go  home  for  the  har- 
vest ;  but  the  loss  was  more  than  made  good  by  the  numer- 
ous levies  which,  at  Schuyler's  suggestion  and  by  Washing- 
ton's  orders,    were    collecting   under   General    Lincoln   in 
Vermont,  for  the  purpose  of  threatening  Burgoyne  in  the 
rear.      The   people   whose   territory  was   invaded    Enemies 
grew  daily  more  troublesome  to  the  enemy.     Bur-   gathering 
goyne  had  supposed  that  it  would  be  necessary   goyne's 
only  to  show  himself  at  the  head  of  an  army,  when 
the  people  would  rush  by  hundreds  to  offer  support  or  seek 
protection.     He  now  found  that  the  people  withdrew  from 
his  line  of  advance,  driving  their  cattle  before  them,  and 
seeking   shelter,    when    possible,    within   the   lines   of    the 
American  army.     In  his  reliance  upon  the  aid  of  New  York 
loyalists,  he  was  utterly  disappointed  ;  very  few  Tories  joined 
him,  and  these  could  offer  neither  sound  advice  nor  personal 
influence   wherewith   to   help   him.     When   the   yeomanry 
collected  by  hundreds,  it  was  only  to  vex  him  and  retard 
his  progress. 

Even  had  the  loyalist  feeling  on  the  Vermont  frontier  of 
New  York  been  far  stronger  than  it  really  was,  Burgoyne 

had  done  much  to  alienate  or  stifle  it  by  his  ill-ad-   TT 

...  .     Use  of  in- 

vised  employment  of  Indian  auxiliaries.     For  this   dian  auxii- 

blunder  the  responsibility  rests  mainly  with  Lord 
North  and  Lord  George  Germain.  Burgoyne  had  little 
choice  in  the  matter  except  to  carry  out  his  instructions. 
Being  a  humane  man,  and  sharing,  perhaps,  in  that  view  of 
the  "  noble  savage  "  which  was  fashionable  in  Europe  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  he  fancied  he  could  prevail  upon  his 
tawny  allies  to  forego  their  cherished  pastime  of  murdering 
and  scalping.  When,  at  the  beginning  of  the  campaign,  he 
was  joined  by  a  party  of  Wyandots  and  Ottawas,  under  com- 
mand of  that  same  redoubtable  Charles  de  Langlade  who, 
twenty-two  years  before,  had  achieved  the  ruin  of  Braddock, 
he  explained  his  policy  to  them  in  an  elaborate  speech,  full 
of  such  sentimental  phrases  as  the  Indian  mind  was  sup- 
posed to  delight  in.     The  slaughter  of  aged  men,  of  women 


286 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  VI 


It  is  ridi- 
culed by 
Burke 


man. 


and  children  and  unresisting  prisoners,  was  absolutely  prohib- 

Burgoyne's   ited  ;  and  "  on  no  account>  or  pretense,  or  subtlety, 
address  to     or  prevarication,"  were  scalps  to  be  taken   from 

tliG  chiefs 

wounded  or  dying  men.  An  order  more  likely 
to  prove  efficient  was  one  which  provided  a  reward  for  every 
savage  who  should  bring  his  prisoners  to  camp  in  safety. 
To  these  injunctions,  which  must  have  inspired  them  with 
pitying  contempt,  the  chiefs  laconically  replied  that  they 
had  "  sharpened  their  hatchets  upon  their  affections,"  and 
were  ready  to  follow  their  "great  white  father." 

The   employment  of    Indian   auxiliaries  was  indignantly 
denounced  by  the  opposition  in   Parliament,  and 
when   the    news   of    this    speech   of    Burgoyne's 
reached  England  it  was  angrily  ridiculed  by  Burke, 
who  took  a  sounder  view  of  the  natural  instincts  of  the  red 
"Suppose,"  said  Burke,  "that  there  was  a  riot  on 

Tower  Hill.  What  would 
the  keeper  of  his  majesty's 
lions  do  ?  Would  he  not 
fling  open  the  dens  of  the 
wild  beasts,  and  then  ad- 
dress them  thus  ?  '  My 
gentle  lions,  my  humane 
bears,  my  tender-hearted 
hyenas,  go  forth !  But  I 
exhort  you,  as  you  are 
Christians  and  members  of 
civilized  society,  to  take 
care  not  to  hurt  any  man, 
woman,  or  child.'  "  The 
House  of  Commons  was 
convulsed  over  this  gro- 
tesque picture ;  and  Lord  North,  to  whom  it  seemed  irre- 
sistibly funny  to  hear  an  absent  man  thus  denounced  for 
measures  which  he  himself  had  originated,  sat  choking  with 
laughter,  while  tears  rolled  down  his  great  fat  cheeks. 

It  soon  turned  out,  however,  to  be  no  laughing  matter. 


LORD    NORTH 


1777  SECOND   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE  287 

The  cruelties  inflicted  indiscriminately  upon  patriots  and 
loyalists  soon  served  to  madden  the  yeomanry,  and  array 
against  the  invaders  whatever  wavering  sentiment  had 
hitherto  remained  in  the  country.  One  sad  incident  in  par- 
ticular has  been  treasured  up  in  the  memory  of  the  people, 
and  celebrated  in  song  and  story.  Jenny  McCrea,  The  s 
the  beautiful  daughter  of  a  Scotch  clergyman  of  of  jane 
Paulus  Hook,  was  at  Fort  Edward,  visiting  her 
friend  Mrs.  McNeil,  who  was  a  loyalist  and  a  cousin  of  Gen- 
eral Fraser.  On  the  morning  of  July  27th,  a  marauding 
party  of  Indians  burst  into  the  house,  and  carried  away  the 
two  ladies.  They  were  soon  pursued  by  some  American 
soldiers,  who  exchanged  a  few  shots  with  them.  In  the 
confusion  which  ensued  the  party  was  scattered,  and  Mrs. 
McNeil  was  taken  alone  into  the  camp  of  the  approaching 
British  army.  Next  day  a  savage  of  gigantic  stature,  a 
famous  sachem,  known  as  the  Wyandot  Panther,  came  into 
the  camp  with  a  scalp  which  Mrs.  McNeil  at  once  recog- 
nized as  Jenny's,  from  the  silky  black  tresses,  more  than  a 
yard  in  length.  A  search  was  made,  and  the  body  of  the 
poor  girl  was  found  hard  by  a  spring  in  the  forest,  pierced 
with  three  bullet  wounds.  How  she  came  to  her  cruel  death 
was  never  known.  The  Panther  plausibly  declared  that  she 
had  been  accidentally  shot  during  the  scuffle  with  the  sol- 
diers, but  his  veracity  was  open  to  question,  and  the  few 
facts  that  were  known  left  ample  room  for  conjecture.  The 
popular  imagination  soon  framed  its  story  with  a  romantic 
completeness  that  thrust  aside  even  these  few  facts.  Miss 
McCrea  was  betrothed  to  David  Jones,  a  loyalist  who  was 
serving  as  lieutenant  in  Burgoyne's  army.  In  the  legend 
which  immediately  sprang  up,  Mr.  Jones  was  said  to  have 
sent  a  party  of  Indians,  with  a  letter  to  his  betrothed,  en- 
treating her  to  come  to  him  within  the  British  lines  that 
they  might  be  married.  For  bringing  her  to  him  in  safety 
the  Indians  were  to  receive  a  barrel  of  rum.  When  she  had 
entrusted  herself  to  their  care,  and  the  party  had  proceeded 
as  far  as  the  spring,  where  the  savages  stopped  to  drink,  a 


288  THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  vi 

dispute  arose  as  to  who  was  to  have  the  custody  of  the 
barrel  of  rum,  and  many  high  words  ensued,  until  one  of  the 
party  settled  the  question  offhand  by  slaying  the  lady  with 
his  tomahawk.  It  would  be  hard  to  find  a  more  interesting 
example  of  the  mushroom-like  growth  and  obstinate  vitality 
of  a  romantic  legend.  The  story  seems  to  have  had  nothing 
in  common  with  the  observed  facts,  except  the  existence  of 
the  two  lovers  and  the  Indians  and  a  spring  in  the  forest.1 
Yet  it  took  possession  of  the  popular  mind  almost  immedi- 
ately after  the  event,  and  it  has  ever  since  been  repeated, 
with  endless  variations  in  detail,  by  American  historians. 
Mr.  Jones  himself  —  who  lived,  a  broken-hearted  man,  for 
half  a  century  after  the  tragedy  —  was  never  weary  of  point- 
ing out  its  falsehood  and  absurdity ;  but  all  his  testimony, 
together  with  that  of  Mrs.  McNeil  and  other  witnesses,  to 
the  facts  that  really  happened  was  powerless  to  shake  the 
hold  upon  the  popular  fancy  which  the  legend  had  instantly 
gained.  Such  an  instance,  occurring  in  a  community  of 
shrewd  and  well-educated  people,  affords  a  suggestive  com- 
mentary upon  the  origin  and  growth  of  popular  tales  in 
earlier  and  more  ignorant  ages. 

But  in  whatever  way  poor  Jenny  may  have  come  to  her 
death,  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  mischief  which  it 
swiftly  wrought  for  the  invading  army.     In  the  first  place, 

1  I  leave  this  as  I  wrote  it  in  June,  1883.  Since  then  another  version 
of  the  facts  has  been  suggested  by  W.  L.  Stone  in  Appleton's  Cyclo- 
pedia of  American  Biography.  In  this  version,  Mr.  Jones  sends  a 
party  of  Indians  under  the  half-breed  Duluth  to  escort  Miss  McCrea  to 
the  camp,  where  they  are  to  be  married  by  Mr.  Brudenell,  the  chaplain. 
It  is  to  be  quite  a  fine  little  wedding,  and  the  Baroness  Riedesel  and 
Lady  Harriet  Ackland  are  to  be  among  the  spectators.  Before  Duluth 
reaches  Mrs.  McNeil's  house,  the  Wyandot  Panther  (here  known  by 
the  name  of  a  different  beast,  Le  Loup)  with  his  party  attacks  the 
house  and  carries  off  the  two  ladies.  The  Panther's  party  meets  Du- 
luth's  near  the  spring.  Duluth  insists  upon  taking  Jenny  with  him, 
and  high  words  ensue  between  him  and  the  Panther,  until  the  latter,  in 
a  towering  rage,  draws  his  pistol  and  shoots  the  girl.  This  version,  if 
correct,  goes  some  way  toward  reconciling  the  legend  with  the  observed 
facts. 


1777  SECOND    BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE  289 

it  led  to  the  desertion  of  all  the   Indian  allies.     Burgoyne 
was  a  man  of  quick  and  tender  sympathy,  and  the  fate  of 
this  sweet  young  lady  shocked  him  as  it  shocked  the  Ameri- 
can people.      He  would   have   had  the  Panther  promptly 
hanged,  but  that  his  guilt  was  not  clearly  proved,  and  many 
of  the  officers  argued  that  the  execution  of  a  famous  and 
popular   sachem  would  enrage   all  the  other  Indians,   and 
might  endanger  the  lives   of   many  of  the  soldiers.      The 
Panther's  life   was   accordingly  spared,   but   Bur-    The 
goyne  made  it  a  rule  that  henceforth  no  party  of   ^^s 
Indians  should  be  allowed  to  go  marauding  save    fiurgoyne 
under   the  lead  of   some  British  officer,  who  might  watch 
and  restrain  them.     When  this  rule  was  put  in  force,  the 


THE   ALLIES  —  PAR    NOBILE    FRATRUM  * 

tawny  savages  grunted  and  growled  for  two  or  three  days, 
and  then,  with  hoarse  yells  and  hoots,  all  the  five  hundred 
broke  loose  from  the  camp,  and  scampered  off  to  the  Adiron- 
dack wilderness.  From  a  military  point  Of  view,  the  loss 
was  small,  save  in  so  far  as  it  deprived  the  army  of  valuable 
scouts  and  guides.  But  the  thirst  for  vengeance  which  was 
aroused  among  the  yeomanry  of  northern  New  York,  of 
Vermont,  and  of  western  Massachusetts,  was  a  much  more 
serious  matter.     The  lamentable   story  was  told  at  every 

1  This  contemporary  British  caricature  represents  the  new  allies, 
"Noble  Pair  of  Brothers,"  George  III.  and  an  Indian  chief,  seated 
together  at  their  cannibal  banquet.  It  expresses  the  lively  disgust  with 
which  the  employment  of  Indians  was  regarded  in  England. 


290  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vi 

village  fireside,  and  no  detail  of  pathos  or  of  horror  was  for- 
gotten. The  name  of  Jenny  McCrea  became  a  watchword, 
and  a  fortnight  had  not  passed  before  General  Lincoln  had 
gathered  on  the  British  flank  an  army  of  stout  and  resolute 
farmers,  inflamed  with  such  wrath  as  had  not  filled  their 
bosoms  since  the  day  when  all  New  England  had  rushed  to 
besiege  the  enemy  in  Boston. 

Such  a  force  of  untrained  yeomanry  is  of  little  use  in  pro- 
longed warfare,  but  on  important  occasions  it  is  sometimes 
capable  of  dealing  heavy  blows.  We  have  seen  what  it  could 
do  on  the  memorable  day  of  Lexington.  It  was  now  about 
to  strike,  at  a  critical  moment,  with  still  more  deadly  effect. 
Burgoyne's  advance,  laborious  as  it  had  been  for  the  last 
three  weeks,  was  now  stopped  for  want  of  horses  to  drag 
the  cannon  and  carry  the  provision  bags ;  and  the  army, 
moreover,   was  already  suffering  from  hunger.     The  little 

village  of  Bennington,  at  the  foot  of  the  Green 
of  Benn^ng-  Mountains,  had  been  selected  by  the  New  Eng- 
goyneBur  land  militia  as  a  centre  of  supplies.  Many  hun- 
sends  a  ^red  horses  had  been  collected  there,  with  ample 
force  stores  of  food  and  ammunition.     To  capture  this 

village  would  give  Burgoyne  the  warlike  material 
he  wanted,  while  at  the  same  time  it  would  paralyze  the 
movements  of  Lincoln,  and  perhaps  dispel  the  ominous  cloud 
that  was  gathering  over  the  rear  of  the  British  army.  Ac- 
cordingly, on  the  13th  of  August,  a  strong  detachment  of 
500  of  Riedesel's  men,  with  100  newly  arrived  Indians  and 
a  couple  of  cannon,  was  sent  out  to  seize  the  stores  at  Ben- 
nington. Lieutenant-Colonel  Baum  commanded  the  expedi- 
tion, and  he  was  accompanied  by  Major  Skene,  an  American 
loyalist,  who  assured  Burgoyne  on  his  honour  that  the  Green 
Mountains  were  swarming  with  devoted  subjects  of  King 
George,  who  would  flock  by  hundreds  to  his  standard  as 
soon  as  it  should  be  set  up  among  them.  That  these  loyal 
recruits  might  be  organized  as  quickly  as  possible,  Burgoyne 
sent  along  with  the  expedition  a  skeleton  regiment  of  loy- 
alists, all  duly  officered,  into  the  ranks  of  which  they  might 


1777  SECOND   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE  291 

be  mustered  without  delay.  The  loyal  recruits,  however, 
turned  out  to  be  the  phantom  of  a  distempered  imagination : 
not  one  of  them  appeared  in  the  flesh.  On  the  contrary, 
the  demeanour  of  the  people  was  so  threatening  that  Baum 
became  convinced  that  hard  work  was  before  him,  and  next 
day  he  sent  back  for  reinforcements.  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Breymann  was  accordingly  sent  to  support  him,  with  another 
body  of  500  Germans  and  two  field-pieces. 

Meanwhile  Colonel  Stark  was  preparing  a  warm  reception 
for  the  invaders.  We  have  already  seen  John  Stark,  a  gal- 
lant veteran  of  the  Seven  Years'  War,  serving  with  distinc- 
tion at  Bunker  Hill  and  at  Trenton  and  Princeton.  He  was 
considered  one  of  the  ablest  officers  in  the  army ;  but  he 
had  lately  gone  home  in  disgust,  for,  like  Arnold,  stark  pre- 
he  had  been  passed  over  by  Congress  in  the  list  ^rveeSthere" 
of  promotions.  Tired  of  sulking  in  his  tent,  no  Germans 
sooner  did  this  rustic  Achilles  hear  of  the  invaders'  presence 
in  New  England  than  he  forthwith  sprang  to  arms,  and  in 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye  800  stout  yeomen  were  marching 
under  his  orders.  He  refused  to  take  instructions  from  any 
superior  officer,  but  declared  that  he  was  acting  under  the 
sovereignty  of  New  Hampshire  alone,  and  would  proceed 
upon  his  own  responsibility  in  defending  the  common  cause. 
At  the  same  time  he  sent  word  to  General  Lincoln,  at  Man- 
chester in  the  Green  Mountains,  asking  him  to  lend  him  the 
services  of  Colonel  Seth  Warner,  with  the  gallant  regiment 
which  had  checked  the  advance  of  Fraser  at  Hubbardton. 
Lincoln  sent  the  reinforcement  without  delay,  and  after 
marching  all  night  in  a  drenching  rain,  the  men  reached 
Bennington  in  the  morning,  wet  to  the  skin.  Telling  them 
to  follow  him  as  soon  as  they  should  have  dried  and  rested 
themselves,  Stark  pushed  on  with  his  main  body,  and  found 
the  enemy  about  six  miles  distant.  On  meeting  this  large 
force,  Baum  hastily  took  up  a  strong  position  on  some  rising 
ground  behind  a  small  stream,  everywhere  fordable,  known 
as  the  Walloomsac  river.  All  day  long  the  rain  fell  in  tor- 
rents, and  while  the  Germans  began  to  throw  up  intrench- 


292  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vi 

ments,  Stark  laid  his  plans  for  storming  their  position  on 
the  morrow.  During  the  night  a  company  of  Berkshire 
militia  arrived,  and  with  them  the  excellent  Mr.  Allen,  the 
warlike  parson  of  Pittsfield,  who  went  up  to  Stark  and  said, 
"  Colonel,  our  Berkshire  people  have  been  often  called  out 
to  no  purpose,  and  if  you  don't  let  them  fight  now  they  will 
never  turn  out  again."  "Well,"  said  Stark,  "would  you 
have  us  turn  out  now,  while  it  is  pitch  dark  and  raining 
buckets  ?  "  "  No,  not  just  this  minute,"  replied  the  minister. 
"Then,"  said  the  doughty  Stark,  "as  soon  as  the  Lord  shall 
once  more  send  us  sunshine,  if  I  don't  give  you  fighting 
enough,  I  '11  never  ask  you  to  come  out  again  !  " 

Next  morning  the  sun  rose  bright  and  clear,  and  a  steam 
came  up  from  the  sodden  fields.  It  was  a  true  dog-day, 
sultry  and  scorching.  The  forenoon  was  taken  up  in  pre- 
paring the  attack,  while  Baum  waited  in  his  strong  position. 
Battle  of  The  New  Englanders  outnumbered  the  Germans 
ton°Aug.  two  t0  one>  but  they  were  a  militia,  unfurnished 
!6, 1777  with  bayonets  or  cannon,  while  Baum's  soldiers 
were  all  regulars,  picked  from  the  bravest  of  the  troops 
which  Ferdinand  of  Brunswick  had  led  to  victory  at  Creveld 
and  Minden.  But  the  worthy  German  commander,  in  this 
strange  country,  was  no  match  for  the  astute  Yankee  on  his 
own  ground.  Stealthily  and  leisurely,  during  the  whole 
forenoon,  the  New  England  farmers  marched  around  into 
Baum's  rear.  They  did  not  march  in  military  array,  but  in 
little  squads,  half  a  dozen  at  a  time,  dressed  in  their  rustic 
blue  frocks.  There  was  nothing  in  their  appearance  which 
to  a  European  veteran  like  Baum  could  seem  at  all  soldier- 
like, and  he  thought  that  here  at  last  were  those  blessed 
Tories,  whom  he  had  been  taught  to  look  out  for,  coming 
to  place  themselves  behind  him  for  protection.  Early  in 
the  afternoon  he  was  cruelly  undeceived.  For  while  500 
of  these  innocent  creatures  opened  upon  him  a  deadly  fire 
in  the  rear  and  on  both  flanks,  Stark,  with  500  more,  charged 
across  the  shallow  stream  and  assailed  him  in  front.  The 
Indians  instantly  broke  and  fled  screeching  to  the  woods, 


1777  SECOND    BLOW   AT   THE    CENTRE  293 

while  yet  there  was  time  for  escape.  The  Germans  stood 
their  ground,  and  fought  desperately ;  but  thus  attacked  on 
all  sides  at  once,  they  were  soon  thrown  into  disorder,  and 
after  a  two  hours'  struggle,  in  which  Baum  was  mortally 
wounded,  they  were  all  captured.  At  this  moment,  as  the 
New  England  men  began  to  scatter  to  the  plunder  of  the 
German  camp,  the  relieving  force  of  Breymann  came  upon 
the  scene;  and  the  fortunes  of  the  day  might  have  been 
changed,  had  not  Warner  also  arrived  with  his  500  fresh 
men  in  excellent  order.  A  furious  charge  was  made  upon 
Breymann,  who  gave  way,  and  retreated  slowly  Thg  invad 
from  hill  to  hill,  while  parties  of  Americans   kept    ing  force 

,  .  ,  .  ,  .  rr        -r.         •    1  ^     annihilated 

pushing  on  to  his  rear  to  cut  him  off.     By  eight 
in  the  evening,  when  it  had  grown  too  dark  to  aim  a  gun, 
this  second    German  force  was  entirely  dispersed  or  cap- 
tured.    Breymann,  with  a  mere  corporal's  guard  of  sixty  or 


CANNON  CAPTURED  AT  BENNINGTON 


seventy  men,  escaped  under  cover  of  darkness,  and  reached 
the  British  camp  in  safety.  Of  the  whole  German  force  of 
1,000  men,  207  had  been  killed  and  wounded,  and  more  than 
700  had  been  captured.  Among  the  spoils  of  victory  were 
1,000  stand  of  arms,  1,000  dragoon  swords,  and  four  field- 
pieces.  Of  the  Americans  14  were  killed  and  42  wounded. 
The  news  of  this  brilliant  victory  spread  joy  and  hope 
throughout  the  land.  Insubordination  which  had  been 
crowned  with  such  splendid  success  could  not  but  be  over- 


294  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vi 

looked,  and  the  gallant  Stark  was  at  once  taken  back  into 
the  army,  and  made  a  brigadier-general..  Not  least  among 
the  grounds  of  exultation  was  the  fact  that  an  army  of 
yeomanry  had  not  merely  defeated,  but  annihilated,  an  army 
of  the  Brunswick  regulars,  with  whose  European  reputation 
for  bravery  and  discipline  every  man  in  the  country  was 
familiar.  The  bolder  spirits  began  to  ask  the  question 
Effect  of  wny  tnat  which  had  been  done  to  Baum  and  Brey- 
jfcjJJJS  mann  might  not  be  done  to  Burgoyne's  whole 
enemies       army  ;  and  in  the  excitement  of  this  rising  hope, 

multiply  .  .  ,      •  °  * 

reinforcements  began  to  pour  m  faster  and  faster, 
both  to  Schuyler  at  Stillwater  and  to  Lincoln  at  Manches- 
ter. On  the  other  hand,  Burgoyne  at  Fort  Edward  was 
fast  losing  heart,  as  dangers  thickened  around  him.  So  far 
from  securing  his  supplies  of  horses,  wagons,  and  food  by 
this  stroke  at  Bennington,  he  had  simply  lost  one  seventh 
part  of  his  available  army,  and  he  was  now  clearly  in  need 
of  reinforcements  as  well  as  supplies.  But  no  word  had  yet 
come  from  Sir  William  Howe,  and  the  news  from  St.  Leger 
was  anything  but  encouraging.  It  is  now  time  for  us  to 
turn  westward  and  follow  the  wild  fortunes  of  the  second 
invading  column. 

About  the  middle  of  July,  St.  Leger  had  landed  at 
Oswego,  where  he  was  joined  by  Sir  John  Johnson  with  his 
famous  Tory  regiment  known  as  the  Royal  Greens,  and  Colo- 
nel John  Butler  with  his  company  of  Tory  rangers.  Great 
Advance  of  effort s  had  been  made  by  Johnson  to  secure  the  aid 
uponFort  °*  tne  Iroquois  tribes,  but  only  with  partial  suc- 
stanwix  cess  For  once  ^e  Long  House  was  fairly  divided 
against  itself,  and  the  result  of  the  present  campaign  did 
not  redound  to  its  future  prosperity.  The  Mohawks,  under 
their  great  chief  Thayendanegea,  better  known  as  Joseph 
Brant,  entered  heartily  into  the  British  cause,  and  they  were 
followed,  though  with  less  alacrity,  by  the  Cayugas  and 
Senecas ;  but  the  central  tribe,  the  Onondagas,  remained 
neutral.     Under  the   influence  of   the   missionary,   Samuel 


777 


SECOND    BLOW   AT   THE    CENTRE 


295 


Kirkland,  the  Oneidas  and  Tuscaroras  actively  aided  the 
Americans,  though  they  did  not  take  the  field.  After  duly 
arranging  his  motley 
force,  which  amounted  to 
about  1,700  men,  St. 
Leger  advanced  very  cau- 
tiously through  the  woods, 
and  sat  down  before  Fort 
Stanwix  on  the  3d  of 
August.  This  strong- 
hold, which  had  been 
built  in  1758,  on  the 
watershed  between  the 
Hudson  and  Lake  Onta- 
rio, commanded  the  main 
line  of  traffic  between 
New  York  and  Upper 
Canada.  The  place  was 
then  on  the  very  outskirts 
of  civilization,  and  under 

the  powerful  influence  of  Johnson  the  Tory  element  was 
stronger  here  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  state.  Even  here, 
however,  the  strength  of  the  patriot  party  turned  out  to  be 
much  greater  than  had  been  supposed,  and  at  the  approach 
of  the  enemy  the  people  began  to  rise  in  arms.  In  this  part 
of  New  York  there  were  many  Germans,  whose  ancestors 
had  come  over  to  America  in  consequence  of  the  devasta- 
tion of  the  Palatinate  by  Louis  XIV.  ;  and  among  these 
there  was  one  stout  patriot  whose  name  shines  conspicuously 
in  the  picturesque  annals  of  the  Revolution.  Gen-  Herkimer 
eral  Nicholas  Herkimer,  commander  of  the  militia  ^akistS 
of  Tryon  County,  a  veteran  over  sixty  years  of  age,  him 
no  sooner  heard  of  St.  Leger' s  approach  than  he  started  out 
to  the  rescue  of  Fort  Stanwix ;  and  by  the  5th  of  August  he 
had  reached  Oriskany,  about  eight  miles  distant,  at  the  head 
of  800  men.  The  garrison  of  the  fort,  600  in  number,  under 
Colonel  Peter  Gansevoort,  had  already  laughed  to  scorn  St. 


COLONEL    BARRY   ST.   LEGER 


296 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


OLUTION 

CHAP. 

VI 

v/.  /  \  or 

FORT   SlA\  \\  F\ 

///////  at 

<).\  l.ll>.\  .S7.IT/OY, 

'  M; 

;.;  ! 

\£i& 


fflctr  '! 


Explanation . 

S  a  A'w  Jttt/t/s/tftvwt  *fc< 


Leger's  summons  to  surrender,  when,  on  the  morning  of 
the  6th,  they  heard  a  distant  firing  to  the  eastward,  which 
they  could  not  account  for.  The  mystery  was  explained 
when  three  friendly  messengers  floundered  through  a  dan- 
gerous swamp  into  the  fort,  and  told  them  of  Herkimer's 
approach  and  of  his  purpose.  The  plan  was  to  overwhelm 
St.  Leger  by  a  concerted  attack  in  front  and  rear.  The 
garrison  was  to  make  a  furious  sortie,  while  Herkimer, 
advancing  through  the  forest,  was  to  fall  suddenly  upon  the 
Herkimer's  enemy  from  behind ;  and  thus  it  was  hoped  that 
p  an  his  army  might  be  crushed  or  captured  at  a  single 

blow.  To  insure  completeness  of  cooperation,  Colonel  Ganse- 
voort  was  to  fire  three  guns  immediately  upon  receiving 
the  message,  and  upon  hearing  this  signal  Herkimer  would 
begin  his  march  from  Oriskany.  Gansevoort  would  then 
make  such  demonstrations  as  to  keep  the  whole  attention 
of  the  enemy  concentrated  upon  the  fort,  and  thus  guard 
Herkimer  against  a  surprise  by  the  way,  until,  after  the 
proper  interval  of  time,  the  garrison  should  sally  forth  in 
full  force. 


1777 


SECOND    BLOW   AT   THE    CENTRE 


!97 


In  this  bold  scheme  everything  depended  upon  absolute 
coordination  in  time.  Herkimer  had  dispatched  his  mes- 
sengers so  early  on  the  evening  of  the  5th  that  they  ought 
to  have  reached  the  fort  by  three  o'clock  the  next  morning, 
and  at  about  that  time  he  began  listening  for  the  signal- 
guns.     But  through  some  unexplained  delay  it  was  nearly 


eleven  in  the  forenoon  when  the  messengers  reached  the 
fort,  as  just  described.  Meanwhile,  as  hour  after  hour 
passed  by,  and  no  signal-guns  were  heard  by  Herkimer's 
men,  they  grew  impatient,  and  insisted  upon  going  ahead, 
without  regard  to  the  preconcerted  plan.  Much  Failure  of 
unseemly  wrangling  ensued,  in  which  Herkimer  thePlan 
was  called  a  coward  and  accused  of  being  a  Tory  at  heart, 
until,  stung  by  these  taunts,  the  brave  old  man  at  length 


298  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vi 

gave  way,  and  at  about  nine  o'clock  the  forward  march  was 
resumed.  At  this  time  his  tardy  messengers  still  lacked 
two  hours  of  reaching  the  fort,  but  St.  Leger's  Indian  scouts 
had  already  discovered  and  reported  the  approach  of  the 
American  force,  and  a  strong  detachment  of  Johnson's 
Greens  under  Major  Watts,  together  with  Brant  and  his 
Mohawks,  had  been  sent  out  to  intercept  them. 

About  two  miles  west  of  Oriskany  the  road  was  crossed 
by  a  deep  semicircular  ravine,  concave  toward  the  east. 
Thayen-  The  bottom  of  this  ravine  was  a  swamp,  across 
prepares  an  which  the  road  was  carried  by  a  causeway  of  logs, 
ambuscade  ancj  the  steep  banks  on  either  side  were  thickly 
covered  with  trees  and  underbrush.  The  practised  eye  of 
Thayendanegea  at  once  perceived  the  rare  advantage  of 
such  a  position,  and  an  ambuscade  was  soon  prepared  with  a 
skill  as  deadly  as  that  which  once  had  wrecked  the  proud 
army  of  Braddock.  But  this  time  it  was  a  meeting  of  Greek 
with  Greek,  and  the  wiles  of  the  savage  chief  were  foiled  by 
a  desperate  valour  which  nothing  could  overcome.  By  ten 
o'clock  the  main  body  of  Herkimer's  army  had  descended 
into  the  ravine,  followed  by  the  wagons,  while  the  rear- 
guard was  still  on  the  rising  ground  behind.  At  this  mo- 
ment they  were  greeted  by  a  murderous  volley  from  either 
side,  while  Johnson's  Greens  came  charging  down  upon 
Battle  of  them  in  front,  and  the  Indians,  with  frightful  yells, 
Augk6?y'  swarmed  in  behind  and  cut  off  the  rear-guard, 
1777  which  was  thus  obliged  to  retreat  to  save  itself. 

For  a  moment  the  main  body  was  thrown  into  confusion, 
but  it  soon  rallied  and  formed  itself  in  a  circle,  which  neither 
bayonet  charges  nor  musket  fire  could  break  or  penetrate. 
The  scene  which  ensued  was  one  of  the  most  infernal  that 
the  history  of  savage  warfare  has  ever  witnessed.  The 
dark  ravine  was  filled  with  a  mass  of  fifteen  hundred  human 
beings,  screaming  and  cursing,  slipping  in  the  mire,  pushing 
and  struggling,  seizing  each  other's  throats,  stabbing,  shoot- 
ing, and  dashing  out  brains.  Bodies  of  neighbours  were 
afterwards  found  lying  in  the  bog,  where  they  had  gone 


1777 


SECOND    BLOW   AT   THE    CENTRE 


299 


down  in  a  death-grapple,  their  cold  hands  still  grasping  the 
knives  plunged  in  each  other's  hearts. 

.  Early  in  the  fight  a  musket-ball  slew  Herkimer's  horse, 
and  shattered  his  own  leg  just  below  the  knee  ;  but  the  old 
hero,  nothing  daunted,  and  bating  nothing  of  his  coolness 
in  the  midst  of  the  horrid  struggle,  had  the  saddle  taken 
from  his  dead  horse  and  placed  at  the  foot  of  a  great  beech- 


BAS-RELIEF   ON    THE    HERKIMER    MONUMENT    AT    ORISKANY 


tree,  where,  taking  his  seat  and  lighting  his  pipe,  he  con- 
tinued shouting  his  orders  in  a  stentorian  voice  and  directing 
the  progress  of  the  battle.  Nature  presently  enhanced  the 
lurid  horror  of  the  scene.  The  heat  of  the  August  morning 
had  been  intolerable,  and  black  thunder-clouds,  overhanging 
the  deep  ravine  at  the  beginning  of  the  action,  had  enveloped 
it  in  a  darkness  like  that  of  night.  Now  the  rain  came 
pouring  in  torrents,  while  gusts  of  wind  howled  through 
the  treetops,  and  sheets  of  lightning  flashed  in  quick  suc- 
cession, with  a  continuous  roar  of  thunder  that  drowned  the 
noise  of  the  fray.     The  wet  rifles  could  no  longer  be  fired, 


300  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vi 

but  hatchet,  knife,  and  bayonet  carried  on  the  work  of 
butchery,  until,  after  more  than  five  hundred  men  had  been 
killed  or  wounded,  the  Indians  gave  way  and  fled  in  all  direc- 
Retreat  of  tions,  and  the  Tory  soldiers,  disconcerted,  began 
the  Tories  to  retreat  up  the  western  road,  while  Herkimer's 
little  army,  remaining  in  possession  of  the  hard-won  field, 
felt  itself  too  weak  to  pursue  them. 

At  this  moment,  as  the  storm  cleared  away  and  long  rays 
of  sunshine  began  flickering  through  the  wet  leaves,  the 
sound  of  the  three  signal-guns  came  booming  through  the 
air,  and  presently  a  sharp  crackling  of  musketry  was  heard 
from  the  direction  of  Fort  Stanwix.  Startled  by  this  omi- 
nous sound,  the  Tories  made  all  possible  haste  to  join  their 
own  army,  while  Herkimer's  men,  bearing  their  wounded  on 
litters  of  green  boughs,  returned  in  sad  procession  to  Oris- 
Retreat  of  kany.  With  their  commander  helpless  and  more 
Herkimer  than  0ne  third  of  their  number  slain  or  disabled, 
they  were  in  no  condition  to  engage  in  a  fresh  conflict,  and 
unwillingly  confessed  that  the  garrison  of  Fort  Stanwix 
must  be  left  to  do  its  part  of  the  work  alone.  Upon  the 
arrival  of  the  messengers,  Colonel  Gansevoort  had  at  once 
taken  in  the  whole  situation.  He  understood  the  myste- 
rious firing  in  the  forest,  saw  that  Herkimer  must  have 
been  prematurely  attacked,  and  ordered  his  sortie  instantly, 
to  serve  as  a  diversion.  The  sortie  was  a  brilliant  success. 
Sir  John  Johnson,  with  his  Tories  and  Indians,  was  com- 
pletely routed  and  driven  across  the  river.  Colonel  Marinus 
Colonel  Willett  took  possession  of  his  camp,  and  held  it 
wniett's  while  seven  wagons  were  three  times  loaded  with 
spoil  and  sent  to  be  unloaded  in  the  fort.  Among 
all  this  spoil,  together  with  abundance  of  food  and  drink, 
blankets  and  clothes,  tools  and  ammunition,  the  victors  cap- 
tured five  British  standards,  and  all  Johnson's  papers,  maps, 
and  memoranda,  containing  full  instructions  for  the  pro- 
jected campaign.  After  this  useful  exploit,  Colonel  Willett 
returned  to  the  fort  and  hoisted  the  captured  British  stand- 
ards, while  over  them  he  raised  an  uncouth  flag,  intended  to 


1777  SECOND    BLOW   AT   THE    CENTRE  301 

represent  the  American  stars  and  stripes,  which  Congress 
had  adopted  in  June  as  the  national  banner.  This  First  hoist- 
rude  flag,  hastily  extemporized  out  of  a  white  ^slnd6 
shirt,  an  old  blue  jacket,  and  some  strips  of  red  stliPes 
cloth  from  the  petticoat  of  a  soldier's  wife,  was  the  first 
American  flag  with  stars  and  stripes  that  was  ever  hoisted, 
and  it  was  first  flung  to  the  breeze  on  the  memorable  day  of 
Oriskany,  August  6,  1777. 

Of  all  the  battles  of  the  Revolution,  this  was  perhaps  the 
most  obstinate  and  murderous.     Each  side  seems  to  have 


JOSEPH    BRANT  I     THAYENDANEGEA 

lost  not  less  than  one  third  of  its  whole  number  ;  and  of 
those  lost,  nearly  all  were  killed,  as  it  was  largely  a  hand-to- 
hand  struggle,  like  the  battles  of  ancient  times,  and  no 
quarter  was  given  on  either  side.  The  number  of  surviving 
wounded,  who  were  carried  back  to  Oriskany,  does  not  seem 
to  have  exceeded  forty.  Among  these  was  the  in-  Death  of 
domitable  Herkimer,  whose  shattered  leg  was  so  Herkimer 
unskilfully  treated  that  he  died  a  few  days  later,  sitting  in 


302 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  VI 


bed  propped  by  pillows,  calmly  smoking  his  Dutch  pipe  and 

reading  his  Bible  at  the  thirty-eighth  Psalm. 

For  some  little  time  no  one  could  tell  exactly  how  the 

results  of  this  fierce  and  disorderly  day  were  to  be  regarded. 

Both  sides  claimed  a  vic- 
tory, and  St.  Leger  vainly 
tried  to  scare  the  garri- 
son by  the  story  that 
their  comrades  had  been 
destroyed  in  the  forest. 
But  in  its  effects  upon 
the  campaign,  Oriskany 
was  for  the  Americans 
a  success,  though  an  in- 
complete one.  St.  Leger 
was  not  crushed,  but  he 
was  badly  crippled.  The 
sacking  of  Johnson's 
camp  injured  his  prestige 
in    the     neighbourhood, 

^a^lrn^c^  fYZMjZ7   and  the  Indian  allies' who 

had  lost  more  than  a  hun- 
dred of  their  best  warriors  on  that  fatal  morning,  grew  daily 
more  sullen  and  refractory,  until  their  strange  behaviour 
came  to  be  a  fresh  source  of  anxiety  to  the  British  com- 
mander. While  he  was  pushing  on  the  siege  as  well  as  he 
could,  a  force  of  1,200  troops,  under  Arnold,  was  marching 
up  the  Mohawk  valley  to  complete  his  discomfiture. 

As  soon  as  he  had  heard  the  news  of  the  fall  of  Ticon- 
deroga,  Washington  had  dispatched  Arnold  to  render  such 
assistance  as  he  could  to  the  northern  army,  and  Arnold 
Arnold  had  accordingly  arrived  at  Schuyler's  headquarters 
SchuySiear's  about  three  weeks  ago.  Before  leaving  Philadel- 
camp  phiaj  he  haci  appealed  to  Congress  to  restore  him 

to  his  former  rank  relatively  to  the  five  junior  officers  who 
had  been  promoted  over  him,  and  he  had  just  learned  that 
Congress  had  refused  the  request.     At  this  moment,  Colonel 


1777 


SECOND    BLOW  AT   THE    CENTRE 


303 


Willett  and  another  officer,  after  a  perilous  journey  through 
the  wilderness,  arrived  at  Schuyler's  headquarters,  and  bring- 
ing the  news  of  Oriskany,  begged  that  a  force  might  be  sent 
to  raise  the  siege  of  Fort  Stanwix.  Schuyler  understood  the 
importance  of  rescuing  the  stronghold  and  its  brave  garri- 
son, and  called  a  council  of  war  ;  but  he  was  bitterly  opposed 
by  his  officers,  one  of  whom  presently  said  to  another,  in  an 
audible  whisper,  "He  only  wants  to  weaken  the  army!" 
At  this  vile  insinuation,  the  indignant  general  set  his  teeth 
so  hard  as  to  bite  through  the  stem  of  the  pipe  he  was 
smoking,  which  fell  on  the  floor  and  was  smashed. 
"  Enough  ! "  he  cried.  "  I  assume  the  whole  responsibility. 
Where  is  the  brigadier  who  will  go  ? "     The  brigadiers  all 


HERKIMER'S    HOUSE   AT    LITTLE    FALLS 


sat  in  sullen  silence ;  but  Arnold,  who  had  been  brooding 
over  his  private  grievances,  suddenly  jumped  up.  "  Here  !  " 
said  he.  "  Washington  sent  me  here  to  make  my-  and  voiun- 
self  useful :  I  will  go."  The  commander  gratefully  f^e  Fort 
seized  him  by  the  hand,  and  the  drum  beat  for  stanwix 
volunteers.      Arnold's   unpopularity  in    New  England  was 


3°4 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  VI 


mainly  with  the  politicians.  It  did  not  extend  to  the  com- 
mon soldiers,  who  admired  his  impulsive  bravery  and  had 
unbounded  faith  in  his  resources  as  a  leader.  Accordingly, 
1,200  Massachusetts  men  were  easily  enlisted  in  the  course 
of  the  next  forenoon,  and  the  expedition  started  up  the  Mo- 
hawk valley.     Arnold  pushed  on  with  characteristic  energy, 

but  the  natural  difficul- 
ties of  the  road  were  such 
that  after  a  week  of  hard 
work  he  had  only  reached 
the  German  Flats,  where 
he  was  still  more  than 
twenty  miles  from  Fort 
Stanwix.  Believing  that 
no  time  should  be  lost, 
and  that  everything 
should  be  done  to  encour- 
age the  garrison  and  dis- 
hearten the  enemy,  he 
had  recourse  to  a  strat- 
agem, which  succeeded 
beyond  his  utmost  antici- 
pation. A  party  of  Tory 
spies  had  just  been  ar- 
rested in  the  neighbourhood,  and  among  them  was  a  certain 
Yan  Yost  Cuyler,  a  queer,  half-witted  fellow,  not  devoid  of 
cunning,  whom  the  Indians  regarded  with  that  mysterious 
awe  with  which  fools  and  lunatics  are  wont  to  inspire  them, 
as  creatures  possessed  with  a  devil.  Yan  Yost  was  sum- 
marily condemned  to  death,  and  his  brother  and  gypsy-like 
mother,  in  wild  alarm,  hastened  to  the  camp,  to  plead  for  his 
life.  Arnold  for  a  while  was  inexorable,  but  presently  offered 
to  pardon  the  culprit  on  condition  that  he  should  go  and 
spread  a  panic  in  the  camp  of  St.  Leger.  Yan  Yost  joyfully 
consented,  and  started  off  forthwith,  while  his  Yan  Yost 
brother  was  detained  as  a  hostage,  to  be  hanged  in  Cuyler 
case  of  his  failure.     To  make  the  matter  still  surer,  some 


i777  SECOND   BLOW   AT   THE   CENTRE  305 

friendly  Oneidas  were  sent  along  to  keep  an  eye  upon  him 
and  act  in  concert  with  him.  Next  day,  St.  Leger's  scouts, 
as  they  stole  through  the  forest,  began  to  hear  rumours  that 
Burgoyne  had  been  totally  defeated,  and  that  a  great  Ameri- 
can army  was  coming  up  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk.  They 
carried  back  these  rumours  to  the  camp,  and  toward  even- 
ing, while  officers  and  soldiers  were  standing  about  in  anxious 
consultation,  Yan  Yost  came  running  in,  with  a  dozen  bullet- 
holes  in  his  coat  and  terror  in  his  face,  and  said  that  he  had 
barely  escaped  with  his  life  from  the  resistless  American 
host  which  was  close  at  hand.  As  many  knew  him  for  a 
Tory,  his  tale  found  ready  belief,  and  when  interrogated  as 
to  the  numbers  of  the  advancing  host  he  gave  a  warning 
frown,  and  pointed  significantly  to  the  countless  leaves  that 
fluttered  on  the  branches  overhead.  Nothing  more  was 
needed  to  complete  the  panic.  It  was  in  vain  that  Johnson 
and  St.  Leger  exhorted  and  threatened  the  Indian  allies. 
Already  disaffected,  they  now  began  to  desert  by  scores, 
while  some,  breaking  open  the  camp  chests,  drank  rum  till 
they  were  drunk,  and  began  to  assault  the  soldiers. 
All  night  long  the  camp  was  a  perfect  Pande-  St.  Leger, 
monium.  The  riot  extended  to  the  Tories,  and  by 
noon  of  the  next  day  St.  Leger  took  to  flight  and  his  whole 
army  was  dispersed.  All  the  tents,  artillery,  and  stores  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Americans.  The  garrison,  sallying 
forth,  pursued  St.  Leger  for  a  while,  but  the  faithless  In- 
dians, enjoying  his  discomfiture,  and  willing  to  curry  favour 
with  the  stronger  party,  kept  up  the  chase  nearly  all  the 
way  to  Oswego  ;  laying  ambushes  every  night,  and  diligently 
murdering  the  stragglers,  until  hardly  a  remnant  of  an  army 
was  left  to  embark  with  its  crestfallen  leader  for  Montreal. 

The  news  of  this  catastrophe  reached  Burgoyne  before  he 
had  had  time  to  recover  from  the  news  of  the  disaster  at 
Bennington.     Burgoyne' s  situation  was  now  becom-  , 

ing  critical.     Lincoln,  with  a  strong  force  of  militia,    dangerous 

,  ....  .  ..       -  .  .  situation 

was  hovering  in  his  rear,  while  the  main  army  be- 
fore him  was  gaining  in  numbers  day  by  day.     Putnam  had 


306  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  vi 

just  sent  up  reinforcements  from  the  Highlands;  Washing- 
ton had  sent  Morgan  with  500  sharpshooters ;  and  Arnold 
was  hurrying  back  from  Fort  Stanwix.  Not  a  word  had 
come  from  Sir  William  Howe,  and  it  daily  grew  more  diffi- 
cult to  get  provisions. 

Just  at  this  time,  when  everything  was  in  readiness  for 
the  final  catastrophe,  General  Gates  arrived  from  Philadel- 
phia, to  take  command  of  the  northern  army,  and  reap  the 
glory  earned  by  other  men.  On  the  first  day  of  August, 
before  the  first  alarm  occasioned  by  Burgoyne's  advance  had 
Schuyler  subsided,  Congress  had  yielded  to  the  pressure  of 
byPGatee^d  Schuyler's  enemies,  and  removed  him  from  his 
Aus-  2  command ;  and  on  the  following  day  Gates  was 
appointed  to  take  his  place.  Congress  was  led  to  take  this 
step  through  the  belief  that  the  personal  hatred  felt  toward 
Schuyler  by  many  of  the  New  England  people  would  pre- 
vent the  enlisting  of  militia  to  support  him.  The  events  of 
the  next  fortnight  showed  that  in  this  fear  Congress  was 
quite  mistaken.  There  can  now  be  no  doubt  that  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  incompetent  Gates  was  a  serious  blunder, 
which  might  have  ruined  the  campaign,  and  did  in  the  end 
occasion  much  trouble,  both  for  Congress  and  for  Washing- 
ton. Schuyler  received  the  unwelcome  news  with  the  noble 
unselfishness  which  always  characterized  him.  At  no  time 
did  he  show  more  zeal  and  diligence  than  during  his  last 
week  of  command ;  and  on  turning  over  the  army  to  Gen- 
eral Gates  he  cordially  offered  his  aid,  whether  by  counsel 
or  action,  in  whatever  capacity  his  successor  might  see  fit  to 
suggest.  But  so  far  from  accepting  this  offer,  Gates  treated 
him  with  contumely,  and  would  not  even  invite  him  to  at- 
tend his  first  council  of  war.  Such  silly  behaviour  called 
forth  sharp  criticisms  from  discerning  people.  "  The  new 
commander-in-chief  of  the  northern  department,"  said  Gou- 
verneur  Morris,  "may,  if  he  please,  neglect  to  ask  or  disdain 
to  receive  advice ;  but  those  who  know  him  will,  I  am  sure, 
be  convinced  that  he  needs  it." 

When  Gates  thus  took  command  of  the  northern  army, 


/  *y  4^a£a#>.  ■vAAAstAAMtti 


1777  SECOND    BLOW   AT   THE    CENTRE  307 

it  was  stationed  along  the  western  bank  of  the  Hudson, 
from  Stillwater  down  to  Halfmoon,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Mohawk,  while  Burgoyne's  troops  were  encamped  along 
the  eastern  bank,  some  thirty  miles  higher  up,  Position  of 
from  Fort  Edward  down  to  the  Battenkill.     For   the  two 

armies, 

the  next  three  weeks  no  movements  were  made  on    Aug.  19- 
either  side  ;  and  we  must  now  leave  the  two  armies     ep  ' 
confronting  each  other  in  these  two  positions,  while  we  turn 
our  attention  southward,  and  see  what   Sir  William  Howe 
was  doing,  and  how  it  happened  that  Burgoyne  had  as  yet 
heard  nothing  from  him. 


CHAPTER  VII 

SARATOGA 

We  have  seen  how,  owing  to  the  gross  negligence  of  Lord 
George  Germain,  discretionary  power  had  been  left  to  Howe, 
while  entirely  taken  away  from  Burgoyne.  The  latter  had 
no  choice  but  to  move  down  the  Hudson.  The  former  was 
instructed  to  move  up  the  Hudson,  but  at  the  same  time 
why  Howe  was  left  free  to  depart  from  the  strict  letter  of  his 
chesa-°  instructions,  should  there  be  any  manifest  advan- 
peake  Bay  tage  m  so  doing.  Nevertheless,  the  movement  up 
the  Hudson  was  so  clearly  prescribed  by  all  sound  military 
considerations  that  everybody  wondered  why  Howe  did  not 
attempt  it.  Why  he  should  have  left  his  brother  general  in 
the  lurch,  and  gone  sailing  off  to  Chesapeake  Bay,  was  a 
mystery  which  no  one  was  able  to  unravel,  until  some  thirty 
years  ago  a  document  was  discovered  which  has  thrown 
much  light  upon  the  question.  Here  there  steps  again 
upon  the  scene  that  miserable  intriguer,  whose  presence  in 
the  American  army  had  so  nearly  wrecked  the  fortunes  of 
the  patriot  cause,  and  who  now,  in  captivity,  pro- 
Lee  in  ceeded  to  act  the  part  of  a  doubly-dyed  traitor.  A 
cap  ivi  y  marpi0t  and  mischief-maker  from  beginning  to  end, 
Charles  Lee  never  failed  to  work  injury  to  whichever  party 
his  selfish  vanity  or  craven  fear  inclined  him  for  the  moment 
to  serve.  We  have  seen  how,  on  the  day  when  he  was 
captured  and  taken  to  the  British  camp,  his  first  thought 
was  for  his  personal  safety,  which  he  might  well  suppose  to 
be  in  some  jeopardy,  since  he  had  formerly  held  the  rank 
of  lieutenant-colonel  in  the  British  army.  He  was  taken  to 
New  York  and  confined  in  the  City  Hall,  where  he  was 
treated  with  ordinary  courtesy ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that 


310  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vn 

Sir  William  Howe  looked  upon  him  as  a  deserter,  and  was 
more  than  half  inclined  to  hang  him  without  ceremony. 
Fearing,  however,  as  he  said,  that  he  might  "  fall  into  a  law 
scrape,"  should  he  act  too  hastily,  Sir  William  wrote  home 
for  instructions,  and  in  reply  was  directed  by  Lord  George 
Germain  to  send  his  prisoner  to  England  for  trial.  In 
pursuance  of  this  order,  Lee  had  already  been  carried  on 
board  ship,  when  a  letter  from  Washington  put  a  stop  to 
these  proceedings.  The  letter  informed  General  Howe  that 
Washington  held  five  Hessian  field-officers  as  hostages  for 
Lee's  personal  safety,  and  that  all  exchange  of  prisoners 
would  be  suspended  until  due  assurance  should  be  received 
that  Lee  was  to  be  recognized  as  a  prisoner  of  war.  After 
reading  this  letter  General  Howe  did  not  dare  to  send  Lee 
to  England  for  trial,  for  fear  of  possible  evil  consequences 
to  the  five  Hessian  officers,  which  might  cause  serious  dis- 
affection among  the  German  troops.  The  king  approved 
of  this  cautious  behaviour,  and  so  Lee  was  kept  in  New 
York,  with  his  fate  undecided,  until  it  had  become  quite 
clear  that  neither  arguments  nor  threats  could  avail  one 
jot  to  shake  Washington's  determination.  When  Lord 
George  Germain  had  become  convinced  of  this,  he  persuaded 
the  reluctant  king  to  yield  the  point ;  and  Howe  was  accord- 
ingly instructed  that  Lee,  although  worthy  of  condign  pun- 
ishment, should  be  deemed  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  might  be 
exchanged  as  such,  whenever  convenient. 

All  this  discussion  necessitated  the  exchange  of  several 
letters  between  London  and  New  York,  so  that  a  whole 
year  elapsed  before  the  question  was  settled.  It  was  not 
until  December  12,  1777,  that  Howe  received  these  final 
instructions.  But  Lee  had  not  been  idle  all  this  time  while 
his  fate  was  in  suspense.  Hardly  had  the  key  been  turned 
upon  him  in  his  rooms  at  the  City  Hall  when  he  began  his 
intrigues.  First,  he  assured  Lord  Howe  and  his  brother 
that  he  had  always  opposed  the  declaration  of  independence,1 

1  In  the  spring  of  1776  Lee  had  written  to  Edward  Rutledge  :  "  By 
the  eternal  God  !     If  you  do  not  declare  yourselves  independent,  you 


1777  SARATOGA  311 

and  even  now  cherished  hopes  that,  by  a  judiciously  arranged 
interview  with  a  committee  from  Congress,  he  might  per- 
suade the  misguided  people  of  America  to  return  to  their 
old  allegiance.  Lord  Howe,  who  always  kept  one  hand  on 
the  olive-branch,  eagerly  caught  at  the  suggestion,  and  per- 
mitted Lee  to  send  a  letter  to  Congress,  urging  Treasonof 
that  a  committee  be  sent  to  confer  with  him,  as  he  Charles 
had  "  important  communications  to  make."  Could 
such  a  conference  be  brought  about,  he  thought,  his  zeal  for 
effecting  a  reconciliation  would  interest  the  Howes  in  his 
favour,  and  might  save  his  precious  neck.  Congress,  how- 
ever, flatly  refused  to  listen  to  the  proposal,  and  then  the 
wretch,  without  further  ado,  went  over  to  the  enemy,  and 
began  to  counsel  with  the  British  commanders  how  they 
might  best  subdue  the  Americans  in  the  summer  campaign. 
He  went  so  far  as  to  write  out  for  the  brothers  Howe  a  plan 
of  operations,  giving  them  the  advantage  of  what  was  sup- 
posed to  be  his  intimate  knowledge  of  the  conditions  of  the 
case.  This  document  the  Howes  did  not  care  to  show  after 
the  disastrous  event  of  the  campaign,  and  it  remained  hidden 
for  eighty  years,  until  it  was  found  among  the  domestic 
archives  of  the  Strachey  family,  at  Sutton  Court,  in  Somer- 
set. The  first  Sir  Henry  Strachey  was  secretary  to  the 
Howes  from  1775  to  1778.  The  document  is  in  Lee's  well- 
known  handwriting,  and  is  indorsed  by  Strachey  as  "  Mr. 
Lee's  plan,  March  29,  1777."  In  this  document  Lee  main- 
tains that  if  the  state  of  Maryland  could  be  overawed,  and 
the  people  of  Virginia  prevented  from  sending  aid  to  Penn- 
sylvania, then  Philadelphia  might  be  taken  and  held,  and  the 
operations  of  the  "  rebel  government  "  paralyzed.  The  Tory 
party  was  known  to  be  strong  in  Pennsylvania,  and  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  Maryland  had  declared  for  inde- 
pendence, last  of  all  the  colonies  save  New  York,  were  such 
as  to  make  it  seem  probable  that  there  also  the  loyalist  feel- 
ing was  very  powerful.     Lee  did  not  hesitate  to  assert,  as  of 

deserve  to  be  slaves  !  "     In  several  such  letters  Lee  had  fairly  bellowed 
for  independence. 


314  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vn 

his  own  personal  knowledge,  that  the  people  of  Maryland 
and  Pennsylvania  were  nearly  all  loyalists,  who  only  awaited 
the  arrival  of  a  British  army  in  order  to  declare  themselves. 
He  therefore  recommended  that  14,000  men  should  drive 
Washington  out  of  New  Jersey  and  capture  Philadelphia, 
while  the  remainder  of  Howe's  army,  4,000  in  number, 
should  go  around  by  sea  to  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  occupy 
Alexandria  and  Annapolis.  From  these  points,  if  Lord 
Howe  were  to  issue  a  proclamation  of  amnesty,  the  pacifi- 
cation of  the  "  central  colonies  "  might  be  effected  in  less 
than  two  months ;  and  so  confident  of  all  this  did  the  writer 
feel  that  he  declared  himself  ready  to  "  stake  his  life  upon 
the  issue,"  a  remark  which  betrays,  perhaps,  what  was  up- 
permost in  his  mind  throughout  the  whole  proceeding.  At 
the  same  time,  he  argued  that  offensive  operations  toward 
the  north  could  not  "answer  any  sort  of  purpose,"  since  the 
northern  provinces  "  are  at  present  neither  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment, strength,  nor  politics  ;  and  the  apprehensions  from 
General  Carleton's  army  will,  I  am  confident,  keep  the  New 
Englanders  at  home,  or  at  least  confine  'em  to  the  east  side 
the  [Hudson]  river." 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  plan  of  Lee's  was  similar  to 
that  of  Lord  George  Germain,  in  so  far  as  it  aimed  at  thrusting 
the  British  power  like  a  wedge  into  the  centre  of  the  confed- 
eracy, and  thus  cutting  asunder  New  England  and  Virginia, 
the  two  chief  centres  of  the  rebellion.  But  instead  of  aim- 
ing his  blow  at  the  Hudson  river,  Lee  aims  it  at  Philadel- 
phia, as  the  "  rebel  capital ;  "  and  his  reason  for  doing  this 
shows  how  little  he  understood  American  affairs,  and  how 
strictly  he  viewed  them  in  the  light  of  his  military  experi- 
Foiiyof  ence  in  Europe.  In  European  warfare  it  is  cus- 
up°Jnnphiia-  tomary  to  strike  at  the  enemy's  capital  city,  in 
?hlp"  "Vi  orc^er  t0  Set  control  of  his  whole  system  of  admin- 
capitai"  istration  ;  but  that  the  possession  of  an  enemy's 
capital  is  not  always  decisive  the  wars  of  Napoleon  have 
most  abundantly  proved.  The  battles  of  Austerlitz  in  1805 
and  Wagram  in  1 809  were  fought  by  Napoleon  after  he  had 


1777  SARATOGA  315 

entered  Vienna  ;  it  was  not  his  acquisition  of  Berlin  in  1 806, 
but  his  victory  at  Friedland  in  the  following  summer,  that 
completed  the  overthrow  of  Prussia ;  and  where  he  had  to 
contend  against  a  strong  and  united  national  feeling,  as  in 
Spain  and  Russia,  the  possession  of  the  capital  did  not  help 
him  in  the  least.  Nevertheless,  in  European  countries, 
where  the  systems  of  administration  are  highly  centralized, 
it  is  usually  advisable  to  move  upon  the  enemy's  capital. 
But  to  apply  such  a  principle  to  Philadelphia  in  1777  was 
the  height  of  absurdity.  Philadelphia  had  been  selected  for 
the  meetings  of  the  Continental  Congress  because  of  its 
geographical  position.  It  was  the  most  centrally  situated 
of  our  large  towns,  but  it  was  in  no  sense  the  centre  of  a 
vast  administrative  machinery.  If  taken  by  an  enemy,  it 
was  only  necessary  for  Congress  to  move  to  any  other  town, 
and  everything  would  go  on  as  before.  As  it  was  not  an 
administrative,  so  neither  was  it  a  military  centre.  It  com- 
manded no  great  system  of  interior  highways,  and  it  was 
comparatively  difficult  to  protect  by  the  fleet.  It  might  be 
argued,  on  the  other  hand,  that  because  Philadelphia  was 
the  largest  town  in  the  United  States,  and  possessed  of  a 
certain  preeminence  as  the  seat  of  Congress,  the  acquisition 
of  it  by  the  invaders  would  give  them  a  certain  moral  ad- 
vantage. It  would  help  the  Tory  party,  and  discourage  the 
patriots.  Such  a  gain,  however,  would  be  trifling  compared 
with  the  loss  which  might  come  from  Howe's  failure  to 
cooperate  with  Burgoyne  ;  and  so  the  event  most  signally 
proved. 

Just  how  far  the  Howes  were  persuaded  by  Lee's  argu- 
ments must  be  a  matter  of  inference.     The  course  which 
they  ultimately  pursued,  in  close  conformity  with  the  sug- 
gestions of  this  remarkable  document,  was  so  disastrous  to 
the  British   cause  that  the  author  might  almost   seem  to 
have  been  intentionally  luring  them  off  on  a  false   £ffe  t 
scent.     One  would  gladly  take  so  charitable  a  view   Lee's 
of  the  matter,  were  it  not  both  inconsistent  with 
what  we  have  already  seen  of  Lee,  and  utterly  negatived 


316  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vii 

by  his  scandalous  behaviour  the  following  year,  after  his 
restoration  to  his  command  in  the  American  army.  We 
cannot  doubt  that  Lee  gave  his  advice  in  sober  earnest. 
That  considerable  weight  was  attached  to  it  is  shown  by  a 
secret  letter  from  Sir  William  Howe  to  Lord  George  Ger- 
main, dated  the  2d  of  April  or  four  days  after  the  date  of 
Lee's  extraordinary  document.  In  this  letter,  Howe,  inti- 
mates for  the  first  time  that  he  has  an  expedition  in  mind 
which  may  modify  the  scheme  for  a  joint  campaign  with 
the  northern  army  along  the  line  of  the  Hudson.  To  this 
suggestion  Lord  George  replied  on  the  1 8th  of  May:  "I 
trust  that  whatever  you  may  meditate  will  be  executed  in 
time  for  you  to  cooperate  with  the  army  to  proceed  from 
Canada."  It  was  a  few  days  after  this  that  Lord  George, 
perhaps  feeling  a  little  uneasy  about  the  matter,  wrote  that 
imperative  order  which  lay  in  its  pigeon-hole  in  London 
until  all  the  damage  was  done. 

With  these  data  at  our  command,  it  becomes  easy  to 
comprehend  General  Howe's  movements  during  the  spring 
and  summer.  His  first  intention  was  to  push  across  New 
Jersey  with  the  great  body  of  his  army,  and  occupy  Phila- 
delphia ;  and  since  he  had  twice  as  many  men  as  Washing- 
ton, he  might  hope  to  do  this  in  time  to  get  back  to  the 
Hudson  as  soon  as  he  was  likely  to  be  needed  there.  He 
began  his  march  on  the  1 2th  of  June,  five  days  before  Bur- 
goyne's  flotilla  started  southward  on  Lake  Champlain.  The 
enterprise  did  not  seem  hazardous,  but  Howe  was  com- 
washing-  pletely  foiled  by  Washington's  superior  strategy, 
ton's  mas-     Before  the  British  commander  had  fairly  begun  to 

terly  cam-  ,  .  J         ' ,.    . 

paign  in  move,  Washington,  from  various  symptoms,  divined 
sey7june,  his  purpose,  and  coming  down  from  his  lair  at  Mor- 
1777  ristown,  planted  himself  on  the  heights  of  Middle- 

brook,  within  ten  miles  of  New  Brunswick,  close  upon  the 
flank  of  Howe's  line  of  march.  Such  a  position,  occupied 
by  8,000  men  under  such  a  general,  was  something  which 
Howe  could  not  pass  by  without  sacrificing  his  communica- 
tions and  thus  incurring  destruction.     But  the  position  was 


1777  SARATOGA  317 

so  strong  that  to  try  to  storm  it  would  be  to  invite  defeat. 
It  remained  to  be  seen  what  could  be  done  by  manoeuvring. 
The  British  army  of  18,000  men  was  concentrated  at  New 
Brunswick,  with  plenty  of  boats  for  crossing  the  Delaware 
river,  when  that  obstacle  should  be  reached.  But  the  really 
insuperable  obstacle  was  close  at  hand.  A  campaign  of 
eighteen  days  ensued,  consisting  of  wily  marches  and  coun- 
ter-marches, the  result  of  which  showed  that  Washington's 
advantage  of  position  could  not  be  wrested  from  him. 
Howe  could  neither  get  by  him  nor  outwit  him,  and  was  too 
prudent  to  attack  him ;  and  accordingly,  on  the  last  day  of 
June,  he  abandoned  his  first  plan,  and  evacuated  New  Jer- 
sey, taking  his  whole  army  over  to  Stat  en  Island. 

This  campaign  has  attracted  far  less  attention  than  it 
deserves,  mainly,  no  doubt,  because  it  contained  no  battles 
or  other  striking  incidents.  It  was  purely  a  series  of  stra- 
tegic devices.  But  in  point  of  military  skill  it  was,  perhaps, 
as  remarkable  as  anything  that  Washington  ever  did,  and  it 
certainly  occupies  a  cardinal  position  in  the  history  of  the 
overthrow  of  Burgoyne.  For  if  Howe  had  been  able  to  take 
Philadelphia  early  in  the  summer,  it  is  difficult  to  see  what 
could  have  prevented  him  from  returning  and  ascending  the 
Hudson,  in  accordance  with  the  plan  of  the  ministry.  Now 
the  month  of  June  was  gone,  and  Burgoyne  was  approach- 
ing Ticonderoga.  Howe  ought  to  have  held  himself  in 
readiness  to  aid  him,  but  he  could  not  seem  to  get  Philadel- 
phia, the  "  rebel  capital,"  out  of  his  mind.  His  next  plan 
coincided  remarkably  with  the  other  half  of  Lee's  scheme. 
He  decided  to  go  around  to  Philadelphia  by  sea,  Uncer. 
but  he  was  slow  in  starting,  and  seems  to  have  gintyasto 
paused  for  a  moment  to  watch  the  course  of  events  next  move- 
at  the  north.  He  began  early  in  July  to  put  his 
men  on  board  ship,  but  confided  his  plans  to  no  one  but 
Cornwallis  and  Grant ;  and  his  own  army,  as  well  as  the 
Americans,  believed  that  this  show  of  going  to  sea  was  only 
a  feint  to  disguise  his  real  intention.  Every  one  supposed 
that  he  would  go  up  the  Hudson.     As  soon  as  New  Jersey 


318  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  vu 

was  evacuated  Washington  moved  back  to  Morristown,  and 
threw  his  advance,  under  Sullivan,  as  far  north  as  Pompton, 
so  as  to  be  ready  to  cooperate  with  Putnam  in  the  High- 
lands, at  a  moment's  notice.  As  soon  as  it  became  known 
that  Ticonderoga  had  fallen,  Washington,  supposing  that 
his  adversary  would  do  what  a  good  general  ought  to  do, 
advanced  into  the  Ramapo  Clove,  a  rugged  defile  in  the 
Highlands,  near  Haverstraw,  and  actually  sent  the  divisions 
of  Sullivan  and  Stirling  across  the  river  to  Peekskill. 

All  this  while  Howe  kept  moving  some  of  his  ships,  now 
up  the  Hudson,  now  into  the  Sound,  now  off  from  Sandy 
Hook,  so  that  people  might  doubt  whether  his  destination 
were  the  Highlands,  or  Boston,  or  Philadelphia.  Probably 
his  own  mind  was  not  fully  made  up  until  after  the  news 
from  Ticonderoga.  Then,  amid  the  general  exultation,  he 
seems  to  have  concluded  that  Burgoyne  would  be  able  to 
take  care  of  himself,  at  least  with  such  cooperation  as  he 
might  get  from  Sir  Henry  Clinton.  In  this  mood  he  wrote 
to  Burgoyne  as  follows  :  "  I  have  .  .  .  heard  from  the  rebel 
army  of  your  being  in  possession  of  Ticonderoga,  which  is  a 
,  great  event,  carried  without  loss.  .  .  .  Washington 
letter  to  is  waiting  our  motions  here,  and  has  detached  Sul- 
livan with  about  2,500  men,  as  I  learn,  to  Albany. 
My  intention  is  for  Pennsylvania,  where  I  expect  to  meet 
Washington ;  but  if  he  goes  to  the  northward,  contrary  to 
my  expectations,  and  you  can  keep  him  at  bay,  be  assured  I 
shall  soon  be  after  him  to  relieve  you.  After  your  arrival 
at  Albany,  the  movements  of  the  enemy  will  guide  yours ; 
but  my  wishes  are  that  the  enemy  be  drove  [sic]  out  of  this 
province  before  any  operation  takes  place  in  Connecticut. 
Sir  Henry  Clinton  remains  in  the  command  here,  and  will 
act  as  occurrences  may  direct.  Putnam  is  in  the  Highlands 
with  about  4,000  men.  Success  be  ever  with  you."  This 
letter,  which  was  written  on  very  narrow  strips  of  thin 
paper,  and  conveyed  in  a  quill,  did  not  reach  Burgoyne  till 
the  middle  of  September,  when  things  wore  a  very  different 
aspect  from  that  which  they  wore  in  the  middle  of  July. 


1777 


SARATOGA 


3i9 


Nothing  could  better  illustrate  the  rash,  overconfident  spirit 
in  which  Howe  proceeded  to  carry  out  his  southern  scheme. 
A  few  days  afterward  he  put  to  sea  with  the  fleet  of  228 
sail,  carrying  an  army  of  18,000  men,  while  7,000  were  left 
in  New  York,  under  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  to  garrison  the  city 
and  act  according  to  circumstances.  Just  before  sailing 
Howe  wrote  a  letter  to  Burgoyne,  stating  that  the  destina- 
tion of  his  fleet  was  Boston,  and  he  artfully  contrived  that 
this  letter  should  fall  into  Washington's  hands.     But  Wash- 


washington's  headquarters  at  chadd's  ford 

ington  was  a  difficult  person  to  hoodwink.  On  reading  the 
letter  he  rightly  inferred  that  Howe  had  gone  southward. 
Accordingly,  recalling  Sullivan  and  Stirling  to  the  west  side 
of  the  Hudson,  he  set  out  for  the  Delaware,  but  proceeded 
very  cautiously,  lest  Howe  should  suddenly  retrace  his 
course,  and  dart  up  the  Hudson.  To  guard  against  such 
an  emergency,  he  let  Sullivan  advance  no  farther  than  Mor- 
ristown,  and  kept  everything  in  readiness  for  an  instant 
counter-march.  In  a  letter  of  July  30th  he  writes,  "  Howe's 
in  a  manner  abandoning  Burgoyne  is  so  unaccountable  a 
matter  that,  till  I  am  fully  assured  of  it,  /  cannot  help  casting 
my  eyes  continually  behind  me"     Next  day,  learning  that 


320  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  vn 

the  fleet  had  arrived  at  the  Capes  of  Delaware,  he  advanced 
to  Germantown ;  but  on  the  day  after,  when  he  heard  that 
the  fleet  had  put  out  to  sea  again,  he  suspected  that  the 
whole  movement  had  been  a  feint.  He  believed  that  Howe 
would  at  once  return  to  the  Hudson,  and  immediately 
Comments  ordered  Sullivan  to  counter-march,  while  he  held 
?ngtonSand  himself  ready  to  follow  at  a  moment's  notice.  His 
Greene  best  generals  entertained  the  same  opinion.  "I 
cannot  persuade  myself,"  said  Greene,  "that  General  Bur- 
goyne  would  dare  to  push  with  such  rapidity  towards  Albany 
if  he  did  not  expect  support  from  General  Howe."  A 
similar  view  of  the  military  exigencies  of  the  case  was  taken 
by  the  British  officers,  who,  almost  to  a  man,  disapproved 
of  the  southward  movement.  They  knew  as  well  as  Greene 
that,  however  fine  a  city  Philadelphia  might  be,  it  was  "  an 
object  of  far  less  military  importance  than  the  Hudson 
river." 

No  wonder  that  the  American  generals  were  wide  of  the 
mark  in  their  conjectures,  for  the  folly  of  Howe's  move- 
ments after  reaching  the  mouth  of  the  Delaware  was  quite 
beyond  credence,  and  would  be  inexplicable  to-day  except 
Howe's  ai-  as  the  result  of  the  wild  advice  of  the  marplot  Lee. 
reason  Howe  alleged  as  his  reason  for  turning  away  from 

trumped       tjie  Delaware,  that  there  were  obstructions  in  the 

up  and  ' 

worthless  river  and  forts  to  pass,  and  accordingly  he  thought 
it  best  to  go  around  by  way  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  land 
his  army  at  Elkton.  Now  he  might  easily  have  gone  a  lit- 
tle way  up  the  Delaware  river  without  encountering  any 
obstructions  whatever,  and  landed  his  troops  at  a  point  only 
thirteen  miles  east  of  Elkton.  Instead  of  attempting  this, 
he  wasted  twenty-four  days  in  a  voyage  of  four  hundred 
miles,  mostly  against  headwinds,  in  order  to  reach  the  same 
point !  No  sensible  antagonist  could  be  expected  to  under- 
stand such  eccentric  behaviour.  No  wonder  that,  after  it 
had  become  clear  that  the  fleet  had  gone  southward,  Wash- 
ington should  have  supposed  an  attack  on  Charleston  to  be 
intended.     A  council  of  war  on  the  21st  decided  that  this 


1777  SARATOGA  321 

must  be  the  case,  and  since  an  overland  march  of  seven 
hundred  miles  could  not  be  accomplished  in  time  to  prevent 
such  an  attack,  it  was  decided  to  go  back  to  New  York,  and 
operate  against  Sir  Henry  Clinton.  But  before  this  decision 
was  acted  on  Howe  appeared  at  the  head  of  Chesapeake 
Bay,  where  he  landed  his  forces  at  Elkton.  It  was  now  the 
25th  of  August,  —  nine  days  after  the  battle  of  Bennington 
and  three  days  after  the  flight  of  St.  Leger.  Since  entering 
Chesapeake  Bay,  Howe  had  received  Lord  George  Burgoyne's 
Germain's  letter  of  May  18th,  telling  him  that  canyPde-Cti" 
whatever  he  had  to  do  ought  to  be  done  in  time  cided 
for  him  to  cooperate  with  Burgoyne.  Now  Burgoyne's 
situation  had  become  dangerous,  and  here  was  Howe  at 
Elkton,  fifty  miles  southwest  of  Philadelphia,  with  Washing- 
ton's army  in  front  of  him,  and  more  than  three  hundred 
miles  away  from  Burgoyne  ! 

On  hearing  of  Howe's  arrival  at  the  head  of  Chesapeake 
Bay,  Washington  had  advanced  as  far  as  Wilmington  to 
meet  him.  The  first  proceeding  of  the  British  general,  on 
landing  at  Elkton,  was  to  issue  his  proclamation  of  amnesty  ; 
but  it  did  not  bring  him  many  recruits.  A  counter-procla- 
mation, drawn  up  by  Luther  Martin,  sufficed  to  neutralize 
it.  Though  there  were  many  people  in  the  neighbourhood 
who  cared  little  for  the  cause  of  independence,  there  were 
but  few  who  sympathized  with  the  invaders  enough  to  render 
them  any  valuable  assistance.  It  was  through  a  country 
indifferent,  perhaps,  but  not  friendly  in  feeling,  that  the 
British  army  cautiously  pushed  its  way  northward  for  a  fort- 
night, until  it  reached  the  village  of  Kennett  Square,  six 
miles  west  of  the  Brandywine  Creek,  behind  which  Wash- 
ington had  planted  himself  to  oppose  its  progress. 

The  time  had  arrived  when  Washington  felt  it  necessary 
to  offer  battle,  even  though  such  a  step  might  not   Washin 
be   justified  from  purely  military  reasons.      The   ton's  rea- 
people  were  weary  of  a  Fabian  policy  which  they   offering 
did   not    comprehend,   and  Washington  saw  that,     attle 
even  if  he  were  defeated,  the  moral  effect  upon  the  country 


322  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  vn 

would  not  be  so  bad  as  if  he  were  to  abandon  Philadelphia 
without  a  blow.  A  victory  he  was  hardly  entitled  to  expect, 
since  he  had  but  11,000  men  against  Howe's  18,000,  and 
since  the  British  were  still  greatly  superior  in  equipment 
and  discipline.  Under  these  circumstances,  Washington 
chose  his  ground  with  his  usual  sagacity,  and  took  posses- 
sion of  it  by  a  swift  and  masterly  movement.  The  Brandy- 
wine  Creek  ran  directly  athwart  Howe's  line  of  march  to 
Philadelphia.  Though  large  enough  to  serve  as  a  military 
obstacle,  —  in  England  it  would  be  called  a  river,  —  it  was 
crossed  by  numerous  fords,  of  which  the  principal  one, 
Chadd's  Ford,  lay  in  Howe's  way.  Washington  placed  the 
He  chooses  centre  of  his  army  just  behind  Chadd's  Ford  and 
strong  across  the  road.  His  centre  was  defended  in  front 
position  Dv  a  corps  of  artillery  under  Wayne,  while  Greene, 
on  some  high  ground  in  the  rear,  was  stationed  as  a  reserve. 
Below  Chadd's  Ford,  the  Brandy  wine  becomes  a  roaring 
torrent,  shut  in  between  steep,  high  cliffs,  so  that  the 
American  left,  resting  upon  these  natural  defences,  was 
sufficiently  guarded  by  the  Pennsylvania  militia  under  Arm- 
strong. The  right  wing,  stretching  two  miles  up  the  stream, 
into  an  uneven  and  thickly  wooded  country,  was  commanded 
by  Sullivan. 

This  was  a  very  strong  position.  On  the  left  it  was  prac- 
tically inaccessible.  To  try  storming  it  in  front  would  be  a 
doubtful  experiment,  sure  to  result  in  terrible  loss  of  life. 
The  only  weak  point  was  the  right,  which  could  be  taken 
in  flank  by  a  long  circuitous  march  through  the  woods. 
Battle  of  Accordingly,  on  the  morning  of  the  nth  of  Sep- 
winf  rsept  tember,  the  British  right  wing,  under  Knyphausen, 
«>  1777  began  skirmishing  and  occupying  Washington's 
attention  at  Chadd's  Ford ;  while  the  left  column,  under  the 
energetic  Cornwallis,  marched  up  the  Lancaster  road,  crossed 
the  forks  of  the  Brandywine,  and  turned  southward  toward 
Birmingham  church,  with  the  intention  of  striking  the  rear 
of  the  American  right  wing.  It  was  similar  to  the  flanking 
movement  which  had  been  tried  so  successfully  at  the  battle 


SCALE  OF  MILES, 


BATTLE  OF  THE  BRANDYWINE 
September  u,  1777 


1777 


SARATOGA 


323 


VIEW   OF    BRANDYWINE   BATTLEFIELD 


of  Long  Island,  a  year  before.  It  was  quite  like  the  splendid 
movement  of  Stonewall  Jackson  at  Chancellorsville,  eighty- 
five  years  afterward.  In  Howe's  time  such  flanking  marches 
were  eminently  fashionable.  It  was  in  this  way  that  the 
great  Frederick  had  won  some  of  his  most  astonishing  vic- 
tories. They  were,  nevertheless,  then  as  always,  dangerous 
expedients,  as  the  stupendous  overthrow  of  the  Austro- 
Russian  army  at  Austerlitz  was  by  and  by  to  show.  There 
is  always  a  serious  chance  that  the  tables  may  be  turned. 
Such  flanking  movements  are  comparatively  safe,  however, 
when  the  attacking  army  greatly  outnumbers  the  army  at- 
tacked, as  at  the  Brandywine.  But  in  all  cases  the  chief 
element  in  their  success  is  secrecy ;  above  all  things,  the 
party  attacked  must  be  kept  in  the  dark. 

These  points  are  admirably  illustrated  in  the  battle  of  the 


324  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vn 

Brandywine.  The  danger  of  a  flank  attack  upon  his  right 
wing  was  well  understood  by  Washington  ;  and  as  soon  as 
he  heard  that  Cornwallis  was  marching  up  the  Lancaster 
road,  he  considered  the  feasibleness  of  doing  what  Fred- 
erick would  probably  have  done,  —  of  crossing  quickly  at 
Chadd's  and  Brinton's  fords,  in  full  force,  and  crushing 
Knyphausen's  division.  This  he  could  doubtless  have  ac- 
complished, had  he  been  so  fortunate  as  to  have  inherited 
an  army  trained  by  the  father  of  Frederick  the  Great.  But 
Washington's  army  was  not  yet  well  trained,  and  its  numeri- 
cal inferiority  was  such  that  Knyphausen's  division  might 
of  itself  be  regarded  as  a  fair  match  for  it.  The  British 
movement  was,  therefore,  well  considered,  and  it  was  doubt- 
less right  that  Washington  did  not  return  the  offensive  by 
crossing  the  creek.  Moreover,  the  organization  of  his  staff 
was  far  from  complete.  He  was  puzzled  by  conflicting 
reports  as  to  the  enemy's  movements.  While  considering 
the  question  of  throwing  his  whole  force  against  Knyp- 
hausen,  he  was  stopped  by  a  false  report  that  Cornwallis 
was  not  moving  upon  his  flank.  So  great  was  the  delay  in 
getting  intelligence  that  Cornwallis  had  accomplished  his 
long  march  of  eighteen  miles,  and  was  approaching  Bir- 
mingham church,  before  it  was  well  known  where  he  was. 
Nevertheless,  his  intention  of  dealing  a  death-blow  to  the 
American  army  was  forestalled  and  partially  checked.  Be- 
fore he  had  reached  our  right  wing,  Washington  had  ordered 
Sullivan  to  form  a  new  front  and  advance'toward  Birming- 
ham church.  Owing  to  the  imperfect  discipline  of  the 
troops,  Sullivan  executed  the  movement  rather  clumsily,  but 
enough  was  accomplished  to  save  the  army  from  rout.  In 
the  obstinate  and  murderous  fight  which  ensued  near  Bir- 
mingham church  between  Cornwallis  and  Sullivan,  the  latter 
was  at  length  slowly  pushed  back  in  the  direction  of  Dil- 
worth.  To  save  the  army  from  being  broken  in  two,  it  was 
now  necessary  for  the  centre  to  retreat  upon  Chester  by  way 
of  Dilworth,  and  this  movement  was  accomplished  by  Greene 
with  consummate  skill.    It  was  now  possible  for  Knyphausen 


1777  SARATOGA  325 

to  advance  across  Chadd's  Ford  against  Wayne's  position ; 
and  he  did  so,  aided  by  the  right  wing  of  Cornwallis's  divi- 
sion, which,  instead  of  joining  in  the  oblique  pursuit  to- 
ward Dilworth,  kept  straight  onward,  and  came  down  upon 
Wayne's  rear.  Nothing  was  left  for  Wayne  and  Armstrong 
but  to  retreat  and  join  the  rest  of  the  army  at  Chester,  and 
so  the  battle  of  the  Brandywine  came  to  an  end. 

This   famous  battle  was    admirably  conducted   on   both 
sides.     The  risk  assumed  in   the  long  flanking  march  of 


BIRMINGHAM    MEETING-HOUSE 


Cornwallis  was  fully  justified.  The  poor  organization  of 
the  American  army  was  of  course  well  known  to  the  British 
commanders,  and  they  took  advantage  of  the  fact.  Had 
they  been  dealing  with  an  organization  as  efficient  as  their 
own,  their  course  would  have  been  foolhardy.  On  the 
other  hand,  when  we  consider  the  relative  strength  of  the 
two  armies,  it  is  clear  that  the  bold  move  of  Cornwallis 
ought  not  simply  to  have  won  the  field  of  battle.  It  ought 
to  have  annihilated  the  American  army,  had  not  its  worst 
consequences  been  averted  by  Washington's  promptness, 
aided  by  Sullivan's  obstinate  bravery  and  Greene's  masterly 
conduct   of   the   retreat   upon    Dilworth.     As   it   was,  the 


326  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  vii 

American  soldiers  came  out  of  the  fight  in  good  order. 
Nothing  could  be  more  absurd  than  the  careless  statement, 
so  often  made,  that  the  Americans  were  "routed"  at  the 
Brandywine.  Their  organization  was  preserved,  and  at 
Chester,  next  day,  they  were  as  ready  for  fight  as  ever. 
They  had  exacted  from  the  enemy  a  round  price  for  the 
victory.  The  American  loss  was  a  little  more  than  1,000, 
incurred  chiefly  in  Sullivan's  gallant  struggle ;  rolls  after- 
ward captured  at  Germantown  showed  that  the  British  loss 
considerably  exceeded  that  figure. 

So  far  as  the  possession  of  Philadelphia  was  concerned, 
the  British  victory  was  decisive.  When  the  news  came, 
next  morning,  that  the  army  had  retreated  upon  Chester, 
there  was  great  consternation  in  the  "rebel  capital."  Some 
timid  people  left  their  homes,  and  sought  refuge  in  the 
mountains.  Congress  fled  to  Lancaster,  first  clothing  Wash- 
ington for  sixty  days  with  the  same  extraordinary  powers 
which  had  been  granted  him  the  year  before.  Yet  there 
w  ,.  was  no  need  of  such  unseemly  haste,  for  Wash- 
ton's  skill  ington  detained  the  victorious  enemy  a  fortnight 
ing  the  on  the  march  of  only  twenty-six  miles ;  a  feat 
which  not  even  Napoleon  could  have  performed 
with  an  army  that  had  just  been  "routed."  He  had  now 
heard  of  Stark's  victory  and  St.  Leger's  flight,  and  his  let- 
ters show  how  clearly  he  foresaw  Burgoyne's  inevitable  fate, 
provided  Howe  could  be  kept  away  from  him.  To  keep 
Howe's  whole  force  employed  near  Philadelphia  as  long  as 
possible  was  of  the  utmost  importance.  Accordingly,  dur- 
ing the  fortnight  following  the  battle  of  the  Brandywine, 
every  day  saw  manoeuvres  or  skirmishes,  in  one  of  which 
General  Wayne  was  defeated  by  Sir  Charles  Gray,  with  a 
The  British  loss  of  three  hundred  men.  On  the  26th,  while 
deiphi™3"  Howe  established  his  headquarters  at  German- 
Sept.  26  town,  Cornwallis  entered  Philadelphia  in  triumph, 
marching  with  bands  of  music  and  flying  colours,  and  all  the 
troops  decked  out  in  their  finest  scarlet  array. 

Having  got  possession  of  the  "rebel  capital,"  the  ques- 


1777  SARATOGA  327 

tion  now  arose  whether  it  would  be  possible  to  hold  it 
through  the  winter.  The  Delaware  river,  below  the  city, 
had  been  carefully  obstructed  by  chevaux-de-frise,  which 
were  guarded  by  two  strong  fortresses,  —  Fort  Mifflin  on  an 
island  in  mid-stream,  and  Fort  Mercer  on  the  Jersey  shore. 
The  river  was  here  about  two  miles  in  width,  but  Si  ifi. 
it  was  impossible  for  ships  to  pass  until  the  forts   cance  of 

i  a  r  Forts  Mer- 

should  have  been  reduced.  About  the  first  of  cerand 
October,  after  a  rough  return  voyage  of  four  hun- 
dred miles,  Lord  Howe's  fleet  appeared  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Delaware.  It  was  absolutely  necessary  to  gain  control 
of  the  river,  in  order  that  the  city  might  get  supplies  by  sea ; 
for  so  long  as  Washington's  army  remained  unbroken,  the 
Americans  were  able  to  cut  off  all  supplies  by  land.  Sir 
William  Howe,  therefore,  threw  a  portion  of  his  forces  across 
the  river,  to  aid  his  brother  in  reducing  the  forts.  The 
quick  eye  of  Washington  now  saw  an  opportunity  for  attack- 
ing the  main  British  army,  while  thus  temporarily  weakened  ; 
and  he  forthwith  planned  a  brilliant  battle,  which  was,  how- 
ever, fated  to  be  lost  by  a  singular  accident. 

The  village  of  Germantown,  by  the  bank  of  the  Schuylkill 
river,  was  then  separated  from  Philadelphia  by  about  six 
miles  of  open  country.  The  village  consisted  Thesitua- 
chiefly  of  a  single  street,  about  two  miles  in  length,  German- 
with  stone  houses  on  either  side,  standing  about  a  town 
hundred  yards  apart  from  each  other,  and  surrounded  by 
gardens  and  orchards.  Near  the  upper  end  of  the  street, 
in  the  midst  of  ornamental  shrubbery,  vases,  and  statues, 
arranged  in  a  French  style  of  landscape  gardening,  stood  the 
massively  built  house  of  Benjamin  Chew,  formerly  Chief 
Justice  of  Pennsylvania.  About  a  mile  below,  at  the  Market 
House,  the  main  street  was  crossed  at  right  angles  by  the 
Old  School  Lane.  Beside  the  main  street,  running  over 
Chestnut  Hill,  the  village  was  approached  from  the  north- 
ward by  three  roads.  The  Monatawny  road  ran  down  by 
the  bank  of  the  Schuylkill,  and,  crossing  the  Old  School 
Lane,  bore  on  toward  Philadelphia.      The  Limekiln  road, 


328  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  vn 

coming  from  the  northeast,  became  continuous  with  the  Old 
School  Lane.  The  Old  York  road,  still  farther  eastward, 
joined  the  main  street  at  the  Rising  Sun  tavern,  about  two 
miles  below  the  Market  House. 

The  British  army  lay  encamped  just  behind  the  Old 
School  Lane,  in  the  lower  part  of  the  village  :  the  left  wing, 
under  Knyphausen,  to  the  west  of  the  main  street  ;  the 
right,  under  Grant,  to  the  east.  A  strong  detachment  of 
chasseurs,  under  Sir  Charles  Grey,  covered  the  left  wing. 
About  a  mile  in  advance  of  the  army,  Colonel  Musgrave's 
regiment  lay  in  a  field  opposite  Judge  Chew's  house ;  and 
yet  a  mile  farther  forward  a  battalion  of  light  infantry  was 
stationed  on  the  slight  eminence  known  as  Mount  Airy, 
where  a  small  battery  commanded  the  road  to  the  north. 

Washington's  plan  of  attack  seems  to  have  contemplated 
nothing  less  than  the  destruction  or  capture  of  the  British 
army.  His  forces  were  to  advance  from  the  north  by  all  four 
washing-  roads  at  once,  and  converge  upon  the  British  at  the 
daciouT  Market  House.  The  American  right  wing,  under 
Plan  Sullivan,  and  consisting  of  Sullivan's  own  brigade, 

with  those  of  Conway,  Wayne,  Maxwell,  and  Nash,  was 
to  march  down  the  main  street,  overwhelm  the  advanced 
parties  of  the  British,  and  engage  their  left  wing  in  front ; 
while  Armstrong,  with  the  Pennsylvania  militia,  was  to 
move  down  the  Monatawny  road,  and  take  the  same  wing 
in  flank.  The  American  left  wing,  commanded  by  Greene, 
was  also  to  proceed  in  two  columns.  Greene,  with  his  own 
brigade,  supported  by  Stephen  and  McDougal,  was  to  march 
down  the  Limekiln  road,  and  assail  the  British  right  wing  in 
front  and  in  flank ;  while  Smallwood  and  Forman,  coming 
down  the  Old  York  road,  were  to  strike  the  same  wing  in 
the  rear.  The  flank  attack  upon  the  British  left,  entrusted 
as  it  was  to  militia,  was  intended  merely  as  a  demonstration. 
The  attack  upon  their  right,  conducted  by  more  than  half 
of  the  American  army,  including  its  best  troops,  was  in- 
tended to  crush  that  wing,  and  folding  back  the  whole  Brit- 
ish army  upon  the  Schuylkill  river,  compel  it  to  surrender. 


BATTLE  OF  GERMANTOWN 
October  4,  1777 


1777 


SARATOGA 


329 


JUDGE   CHEW'S   HOUSE   AT   GERMANTOWN 


Considering  that  the  Americans  had  not  even  yet  a  su- 
periority in  numbers,  this  was  a  most  audacious  plan.  No 
better  instance  could  be  given  of  the  spirit  of  wild  and  ven- 
turous daring  which  was  as  conspicuous  in  Washington  as 
his  cautious  vigilance,  whenever  any  fit  occasion  arose  for 
displaying  it.  The  scheme  came  surprisingly  near  to  suc- 
cess ;  so  near  as  to  redeem  it  from  the  imputation  of  fool- 
hardiness,  and  to  show  that  here,  as  in  all  Washington's 
military  movements,  cool  judgment  went  along  with  fiery  dash. 
At  seven  in  the  evening  of  the  3d  of  October,  the  Battle  of 
night  march  upon  Germantown  began,  Washing-  {jJJJJ*11" 
ton  accompanying  Sullivan's  column.  At  sunrise  0ct-4 
a  heavy  fog  came  up,  and  the  darkness  went  on  increasing. 
Soon  after  the  hour  of  daybreak  the  light  infantry  upon 
Mount  Airy  were  surprised  and  routed,  and  the  battery  was 
captured.  Musgrave  was  next  overwhelmed  by  the  heavy 
American  column  ;  but  he,  with  a  small  force,  took  refuge 


330  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vn 

in  Judge  Chew's  house,  and  set  up  a  brisk  fire  from  the 
windows.  The  Americans  opened  an  artillery-fire  upon  the 
house,  but  its  stone  walls  were  too  solid  to  be  beaten  down 
by  the  three-pound  and  six-pound  field-pieces  of  that  day ; 
and  so  Maxwell's  brigade  was  left  behind  to  besiege  the 
house,  while  the  rest  of  the  column  rushed  on  down  the 
street.  The  chief  effect  of  this  incident  was  to  warn  the 
enemy,  while  retarding  and  somewhat  weakening  the  Amer- 
ican charge.  Nevertheless,  the  fury  of  the  attack  was  such 
as  to  disconcert  Knyphausen's  veterans,  and  the  British  left 
wing  slowly  gave  way  before  Sullivan.  At  this  moment, 
Greene,  who  had  also  been  delayed,  attacked  the  right  wing 
with  such  vigour  as  presently  to  force  it  back  toward  the 
Market  House.  The  British  ranks  were  falling  into  con- 
fusion, and  Smallwood's  column  had  already  arrived  upon 
their  right  flank,  when  the  accident  occurred  which  changed 
the  fortunes  of  the  day.  From  the  beginning  the  dense  fog 
had  been  a  source  of  confusion  to  both  armies,  and  had  seri- 
ously interfered  with  the  solidity  of  the  American  advance. 
Now,  as  Stephen's  brigade,  on  the  right  of  Greene's  column, 
came  into  the  village,  the  heavy  firing  at  Judge  Chew's 
seems  to  have  caused  him  to  diverge  more  and  more  to  the 
west,  in  the  belief  that  there  was  the  thick  of  the  battle. 
At  the  same  time,  Wayne,  in  driving  the  enemy  before  him, 
had  swayed  somewhat  to  the  east,  so  that  his  brigade  stood 
almost  directly  in  the  line  of  Stephen's  progress.  In  this 
position  he  was  attacked  by  Stephen,  who  mistook  him  for 
the  enemy.  This  lamentable  blunder  instantly  ruined  the 
battle.  Wayne's  men,  thus  fiercely  attacked  in  the  rear, 
and  struggling  to  extricate  themselves,  were  thrown  upon 
the  left  flank  of  Sullivan's  brigade,  and  a  panic  suddenly 
ran  through  the  army.  The  confusion  grew  worse  and 
worse,  till  a  general  retreat  began,  and  Grey,  who  had  come 
up  to  support  the  crumbling  right  wing  of  the  British,  was 
now  able  to  lead  in  the  pursuit  of  the  Americans.  He  was 
joined  by  Cornwallis,  who  had  sprung  from  his  bed  in  Phila- 
delphia at  the  first  sound  of  the  cannon,  and  had  brought 


1777 


SARATOGA 


331 


up  two  battalions  with  him  at  double-quick.  But  the  panic 
had  subsided  almost  as  soon  as  the  golden  moment  of  vic- 
tory was  lost,  and  the  retreat  was  conducted  in  excellent 
order.  One  regiment  in  Greene's  column  was  surrounded 
and  captured,  but  the  army  brought  away  all  its  cannon  and 
wounded,  with  several  cannon  taken  from  the  enemy.  The 
loss  of  the  Americans  in  killed  and  wounded  was  673,  and 
the  loss  of  the  British  was  535. 

The  fog  which  enshrouded  the  village  of  Germantown  on 
that  eventful  morning  has  been  hardly  less  confusing  to  his- 
torians than  it  was  to  the  armies  engaged.  The  reports  of 
different  observers  conflicted  in  many  details,  and  particu- 
larly as  to  the  immediate  occasion  of  the  fatal  panic.     The 


0&. 


HOUSE   AT    GERMANTOWN    OCCUPIED    BY    THE    BRITISH 


best  accounts  agree,  however,  that  the  entanglement  of 
Stephen  with  Wayne  was  chiefly  responsible  for  the  dis- 
aster. It  was  charged  against  Stephen  that  he  had  taken 
too  many  pulls  at  his  canteen  on  the  long,  damp  night  march, 
and  he  was  tried  by  court-martial,  and  dismissed  from  the 
service.  The  chagrin  of  the  Americans  at  losing  the  prize 
so  nearly  grasped  was  profound.  The  total  rout  of  Howe, 
coming  at  the  same  time  with  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne, 


33* 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vn 


WHITHALL    HOUSE    AT    FORT    MERCER    WHERE    DONOP    DIED 


would  probably  have  been  too  much  for  Lord  North's  min- 
istry to  bear,  and  might  have  brought  the  war  to  a  sudden 
close.  As  it  was,  the  British  took  an  undue  amount  of  comfort 
in  the  acquisition  of  Philadelphia,  though  so  long  as  Washing- 
ton's army  remained  defiant  it  was  of  small  military  value  to 
them.  On  the  other  hand,  the  genius  and  audacity  shown 
by  Washington,  in  thus  planning  and  so  nearly  accomplish- 
ing the  ruin  of  the  British  army  only  three  weeks  after  the 
defeat  at  the  Brandywine,  produced  a  profound  impression 
upon  military  critics  in  Europe.  Frederick  of  Prussia  saw 
that  presently,  when  American  soldiers  should  come  to  be 
disciplined  veterans,  they  would  become  a  formidable  in- 
strument in  the  hands  of  their  great  commander ;  and  the 
French  court,  in  making  up  its  mind  that  the  Americans 
would  prove  efficient  allies,  is  said  to  have  been  influenced 
almost  as  much  by  the  battle  of  Germantown  as  by  the 
surrender  of  Burgoyne. 

Having  thus  escaped  the  catastrophe  which  Washington 
Howe  cap-  had  designed  for  him,  the  British  commander  was 
Mercerand  now  a^e  to  Put  f°rth  his  utmost  efforts  for  the 
Mifflin  capture  of  the  forts  on  the  Delaware.  His  utmost 
efforts  were  needed,  for  in  the  first  attack  on  Fort  Mercer, 
October  22,  the  Hessians  were  totally  defeated,   with  the 


1777  SARATOGA  333 

loss  of  Count  Donop  and  400  men,  while  the  Americans  lost 
but  37.  But  after  a  month  of  hard  work,  with  the  aid  of 
6,000  more  men  sent  from  New  York  by  Clinton,  both  forts 
were  reduced,  and  the  command  of  the  Delaware  was  wrested 
from  the  Americans.  Another  month  of  manoeuvring  and 
skirmishing  followed,  and  then  Washington  took  his  army 
into  winter-quarters  at  Valley  Forge.  The  events  which 
attended  his  sojourn  in  that  natural  stronghold  belong  to  a 
later  period  of  the  war.  We  must  now  return  to  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Hudson,  and  show  how  the  whole  period,  which 
may  be  most  fitly  described  as  a  struggle  for  the  control  of 
the  great  central  state  of  New  York,  was  brought  to  an  end 
by  the  complete  and  overwhelming  victory  of  the  Amer- 
icans. 

We  have  seen  how  it  became  impossible  for  Howe  to  act 
upon  Lord  George  Germain's  order,  received  in  August,  in 
Chesapeake  Bay,  and  get  back  to  the  Hudson  in  time  to  be 
of  any  use  to  Burgoyne.  We  have  also  seen  how  critical 
was  the  situation  in  which  the  northern  general  was  left, 
after  the  destruction  of  Baum  and  St.  Leger,  and  the  accu- 
mulation of  New  England  yeomanry  in  his  rear.  Burgoyne 
Burgoyne  now  fully  acknowledged  the  terrible  mis-  recognizes 
take  of  the  ministry  in  assuming  that  the  resist-  error  of 
ance  of  the  Americans  was  due  to  the  machinations 
of  a  few  wily  demagogues,  and  that  the  people  would  hail 
the  approach  of  the  king's  troops  as  deliverers.  "The 
great  bulk  of  the  country,"  said  he,  "is  undoubtedly  with 
the  Congress  in  principle  and  zeal,  and  their  measures  are 
executed  with  a  secrecy  and  dispatch  that  are  not  to  be 
equalled.  .  .  .  The  Hampshire  Grants,  in  particular,  a  coun- 
try unpeopled  and  almost  unknown  last  war,  now  abounds 
in  the  most  active  and  most  rebellious  race  on  the  conti- 
nent, and  hangs  like  a  gathering  storm  upon  my  left."  The 
situation  had,  indeed,  become  so  alarming  that  it  is  hard  to 
say  what  Burgoyne  ought  to  have  done.  A  retreat  upon 
Ticonderoga  would  have  been   fraught  with  peril,  while  to 


334  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  vii 

cross  the  Hudson  and  advance  upon  Albany  would  be  doing 
like  Cortes,  when  he  scuttled  his  ships. .  But  Burgoyne  was 
a  man  of  chivalrous  nature.  He  did  not  think  it  right  or 
prudent  to  abandon  Sir  William  Howe,  whom  he  still  sup- 
posed to  be  coming  up  the  river  to  meet  him.  In  a  letter 
to  Lord  George  Germain,  written  three  days  after  the  sur- 
render, he  says,  "  The  difficulty  of  a  retreat  upon  Canada 
was  clearly  foreseen,  as  was  the  dilemma,  should  the  retreat 
be  effected,  of  leaving  at  liberty  such  an  army  as  General 
Gates's  to  operate  against  Sir  William  Howe.  This  con- 
sideration operated  forcibly  to  determine  me  to  abide  events 
as  long  as  possible,  and  I  reasoned  thus  :  the  expedition 
which  I  commanded  was  at  first  evidently  intended  to  be 
hazarded ;  circumstances  might  require  it  should  be  de- 
voted." 

Influenced  by  these  views,  which  were  supported  by  all 
his  generals  except  Riedesel,  Burgoyne  threw  a  bridge  of 
Neverthe-  boats  across  the  Hudson,  and  passed  over  with 
crosses  the  n*s  wn°le  army  on  the  1 3th  of  September.  The 
Hudson  Americans  had  taken  a  strong  position  on  Bemis 
Heights,  where  Kosciuszko  had  skilfully  fortified  their  camp 
with  batteries  and  redoubts.  Burgoyne  felt  that  the  time 
for  desperate  fighting  had  now  come,  and  it  seemed  to  him 
that  the  American  position  might  be  turned  and  carried  by 
an  attack  upon  its  left  flank.  On  the  morning  of  the  19th, 
he  advanced  through  the  woods,  with  the  centre  of  his 
army,  toward  the  point  where  the  Quaker  road  passed 
Bemis  Heights.  The  right  wing,  under  Fraser,  proceeded 
somewhat  more  circuitously  toward  the  same  point,  the 
plan  being  that  they  should  join  forces  and  strike  the  rear 
of  the  American  camp,  while  Riedesel  and  Phillips,  with 
the  left  wing  and  the  artillery,  marching  down  the  river 
First  battle  road,  should  assail  it  in  front.  Three  heavy  guns, 
man'?6  announcing  to  the  left  wing  the  junction  of  Bur- 
Farm,  goyne  and  Fraser,  were  to  give  the  signal  for  a 
indecisive  general  assault.  American  scouts,  lurking  among 
the  upper  branches  of  tall  trees  that  grew  on  steep  hillsides, 


FIRST  BATTLE  AT  FREEMAN'S  FARM 
September  19,  1777 


1777  SARATOGA  335 

presently  caught  glimpses  of  bright  scarlet  flitting  through 
the  green  depths  of  the  forest,  while  the  long  sunbeams 
that  found  their  way  through  the  foliage  sent  back  quick 
burning  flashes  from  a  thousand  bayonets.  By  noon  the 
course  of  the  British  march  and  their  plan  of  attack  had 
been  fully  deciphered,  and  the  intelligence  was  carried  to 
Arnold,  who  commanded  the  left  wing  of  the  American 
army.  Gates  appears  to  have  been  unwilling  to  let  any  of 
the  forces  descend  from  their  strong  position  ;  but  the  fiery 
Arnold  urged  and  implored,  until  he  got  permission  to  take 
Morgan's  riflemen  and  Dearborn's  infantry,  and  go  forth  to 
attack  the  enemy.  Arnold's  advance,  under  Morgan,  first  fell 
upon  Burgoyne's  advance,  at  Freeman's  Farm,  and  checked 
its  progress.  Fraser  then,  hearing  the  musketry,  turned 
eastward  to  the  rescue,  while  Arnold,  moving  upon  Fraser's 
left,  sought  to  cut  him  asunder  from  Burgoyne.  He  seemed 
to  be  winning  the  day,  when  he  was  attacked  in  flank  by 
Riedesel,  who  had  hurried  up  from  the  river  road.  Arnold 
had  already  sent  to  Gates  for  reinforcements,  which  were 
refused  him.  Arnold  maintained  that  this  was  a  gross 
blunder  on  the  part  of  the  commanding  general,  and  that 
with  2,000  more  men  he  could  now  easily  have  crushed  the 
British  centre  and  defeated  their  army.  In  this  opinion  he 
was  probably  right,  since  even  as  it  was  he  held  his  own,  in 
a  desperate  fight,  for  two  hours,  until  darkness  put  an  end 
to  the  struggle.  The  losses  on  each  side  are  variously  esti- 
mated at  from  600  to  1,000,  or  from  one  fifth  to  one  fourth 
of  the  forces  engaged,  which  indicates  severe  fighting. 
Arnold's  command  had  numbered  about  3,000,  and  he  had 
been  engaged,  in  the  course  of  the  afternoon,  with  at  least 
4,000  of  Burgoyne's  army;  yet  all  this  while  some  11,000 
Americans  —  most  of  the  army  in  short  —  had  been  kept 
idle  on  Bemis  Heights  by  the  incompetent  Gates.  Bur- 
goyne tried  to  console  himself  with  the  idea  that  he  had 
won  a  victory,  because  his  army  slept  that  night  at  Free- 
man's Farm  ;  but  in  his  testimony  given  afterward  before 
the  House  of  Commons,  he  rightly  maintained  that  his  plan 


33& 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAP.  VII 


of  attack  had  been  utterly  defeated  by  the  bold  and  skilful 
tactics  of  "Mr."  Arnold. 

In  the  dispatches  which  he  now  sent  to  Congress,  Gates 
took  to  himself  all  the  credit  of  this  affair,  and  did  not  even 


mention  Arnold's  name.  The  army,  however,  rang  with 
praise  of  the  fighting  general,  until  Gates,  who  never  could 
bear  to  hear  any  one  but  himself  well  spoken  of,  waxed 
wroth  and  revengeful.  Arnold,  moreover,  freely  blamed 
Gates  for  not  supporting  him,   and  for  refusing  to  renew 


Q 


1777  SARATOGA  337 

the  battle  on  the  next  morning,  while  the  enemy  were  still 
disconcerted.  Arnold's  warm  friendship  with  Schuyler  gave 
further  offence  to  the  commander ;  and  three  days  after  the 
battle  he  sought  to  wreak  his  spite  by  withdrawing  Mor- 
gan's riflemen  and  Dearborn's  light  infantry  from  Arnold's 
division.  A  fierce  quarrel  ensued,  in  the  course  of  which 
Gates  told  Arnold  that  as  soon  as  Lincoln  should  arrive  he 
would  have  no  further  use  for  him,  and  he  might  go  back  to 
Washington's  camp  as  soon  as  he  liked.  Arnold,  in  a  white 
rage,  said  he  would  go,  and  asked  for  a  pass,  which  his  enemy 
promptly  gave  him ;  but  after  receiving  it,  second  thoughts 
prevented  him  from  going.  All  the  general  officers  except 
Lincoln  —  who  seems  to  have  refrained  from  unwillingness 
to  give  umbrage  to  a  commander  so  high  in  the  good  graces 
of  Massachusetts  as  Gates  —  united  in  signing  a  letter  en- 
treating Arnold  to  remain.  He  had  been  sent  here  by 
Washington  to  aid  the  northern  army,  and  clearly  it  would 
be  wrong  to  leave  it  now,  on  the  eve  of  a  decisive  battle.  So 
the  proud,  fiery  soldier,  smarting  under  an  accumulation  of 
injuries,  made  up  his  mind  once  more  to  swallow  the  affront, 
and  wait  for  a  chance  to  make  himself  useful.  He  stayed 
in  his  quarters,  awaiting  the  day  of  battle,  though  it  was  not 
clear  how  far  he  was  entitled,  under  the  circumstances,  to 
exercise  command,  and  Gates  took  no  more  notice  of  him 
than  if  he  had  been  a  dog. 

Nothing  more  was  done  for  eighteen  days.  Just  before 
the  crossing  of  the  Hudson  by  the  northern  army,  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  acting  "as  circumstances  may  direct,"  had  planned 
an  expedition  up  the  river  in  aid  of  it ;  and  Burgoyne,  hear- 
ing of  this  the  day  after  the  battle  at  Freeman's  Farm, 
thought  it  best  to  wait  a  while  before  undertaking  another 
assault  upon  the  American  lines.  But  things  were  swiftly 
coming  to  such  a  pass  that  it  would  not  do  to  wait.  On  the 
2 1  st,  news  came  to  the  British  camp  that  a  detachment  of 
Lincoln's  troops  had  laid  siege  to  Ticonderoga,  and,  while 
holding  the  garrison  in  check,  had  captured  several  ships 
and  taken  300  prisoners.     A  day  or  two  later  came  the  news 


33%  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vn 

that  these  New  Englanders  had  embarked  on  Lake  George 
Bur  o  ne's  "*  ^e  smPs  tney  na^  captured,  and  were  cutting 
supplies  off  the  last  sources  of  supply.  And  now,  while  even 
on  shortest  rations  there  was  barely  three  weeks' 
food  for  the  army,  Lincoln's  main  force  appeared  in  front, 
thus  swelling  the  numbers  of  the  American  army  to  more 
than  16,000.  The  case  had  become  as  desperate  as  that  of 
the  Athenians  at  Syracuse  before  their  last  dreadful  battle 
in  the  harbour.  So,  after  eighteen  weary  days,  no  word  yet 
coming  from  Clinton,  the  gallant  Burgoyne  attempted,  by  a 
furious  effort,  to  break  through  the  lines  of  an  army  that 
now  outnumbered  him  more  than  three  to  one. 

On  the  morning  of  October  7th,  leaving  the  rest  of  his 
army  in  camp,  Burgoyne  advanced  with  1,500  picked  men 
to  turn  the  American  left.  Small  as  the  force  was,  its 
quality  was  superb,  and  with  it  were  the  best  commanders, 
—  Phillips,  Riedesel,  Fraser,  Balcarras,  and  Ackland.  Such 
a  compact  force,  so  ably  led,  might  manoeuvre  quickly.  If, 
on  sounding  the  American  position  on  the  left,  they  should 
find  it  too  strong  to  be  forced,  they  might  swiftly  retreat. 
At  all  events,  the  movement  would  cover  a  foraging  party 
which  Burgoyne  had  sent  out,  —  and  this  was  no  small  mat- 
ter. Arnold,  too,  the  fighting  general,  it  was  reported,  held 
no  command  ;  and  Gates  was  known  to  be  a  sluggard.  Such 
thoughts  may  have  helped  to  shape  the  conduct  of 
tie*?"  Free-  the  British  commander  on  this  critical  morning. 
Far'm,  Oct.  But  tne  scheme  was  swiftly  overturned.  As  the 
7;  the  Brit-   British  came  on,  their  right  was  suddenly  attacked 

ish  totally  '  °  J 

defeated  by  by  Morgan,  while  the  New  England  regulars  with 
3,000  New  York  militia  assailed  them  in  front. 
After  a  short,  sharp  fight  against  overwhelming  numbers, 
their  whole  line  was  broken,  and  Fraser  sought  to  form 
a  second  line  a  little  farther  back,  on  the  west  border  of 
Freeman's  Farm,  though  the  ranks  were  badly  disordered 
and  all  their  cannon  were  lost.  At  this  moment,  Arnold, 
who  had  been  watching  from  the  heights,  saw  that  a  well- 
directed  blow  might  not  only  ruin  this  retreating  column, 


t  *  *  *  *    i 


SECOND  BATTLE  AT  FREEMAN'S  FARM 
October  7,  1777 


1777  SARATOGA  339 

but  also  shatter  the  whole  British  army.  Quick  as  thought 
he  sprang  upon  his  horse,  and  galloped  to  the  scene  of  ac- 
tion. He  was  greeted  with  deafening  hurrahs,  and  the  men, 
leaping  with  exultation  at  sight  of  their  beloved  commander, 
rushed  upon  Fraser's  half -formed  line.  At  the  same  mo- 
ment, while  Morgan  was  still  pressing  on  the  British  right, 


umt.   <Jraj#r-' 


one  of  his  marksmen  shot  General  Fraser,  who  fell,  mortally 
wounded,  just  as  Arnold  charged  with  mad  fury  upon  his 
line.  The  British,  thus  assailed  in  front  and  flank,  were 
soon  pushed  off  the  field.  Arnold  next  attacked  Lord  Bal- 
carras,  who  had  retired  behind  intrenchments  at  the  north 
of  Freeman's  Farm ;  but  finding  the  resistance  here  too 
strong,  he  swept  by,  and  charged  upon  the  Canadian  auxili- 
aries, who  occupied  a  position  just  north  of  Balcarras,  and 
covered  the  left  wing  of  Breymann's  forces  at  the  extreme 


340  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  vii 

right  of  the  British  camp.  The  Canadians  soon  fled,  leav- 
ing Breymann  uncovered ;  and  Arnold  forthwith  rushed 
against  Breymann  on  the  left,  just  as  Morgan,  who  had  pro- 
longed his  flanking  march,  assailed  him  on  the  right.  Brey- 
mann was  slain  and  his  force  routed  ;  the  British  right  wing 
was  crushed,  and  their  whole  position  taken  in  reverse  and 
made  untenable.  Just  at  this  moment,  a  wounded  German 
soldier,  lying  on  the  ground,  took  aim  at  Arnold,  and  slew 
his  horse,  while  the  ball  passed  through  the  general's  left 
leg,  that  had  been  wounded  at  Quebec,  and  fractured  the 
bone  a  little  above  the  knee.  As  Arnold  fell,  one  of  his 
men  rushed  up  to  bayonet  the  wounded  soldier  who  had 
shot  him,  when  the  prostrate  general  cried,  "  For  God's  sake, 
don't  hurt  him ;  he's  a  fine  fellow ! "  The  poor  German 
was  saved,  and  this  was  the  hour  when  Benedict  Arnold 
should  have  died.  His  fall  and  the  gathering  twilight 
stopped  the  progress  of  the  battle,  but  the  American  victory 
was  complete  and  decisive.  Nothing  was  left  for  Burgoyne 
but  to  get  the  wreck  of  his  army  out  of  the  way  as  quickly 
as  possible,  and  the  next  day  he  did  so,  making  a  slow 
retreat  upon  Saratoga,  in  the  course  of  which  his  soldiers 
burned  General  Schuyler's  princely  country-house,  with  its 
barns  and  granaries. 

As  the  British  retreated,  General  Gates  steadily  closed  in 
upon  them  with  his  overwhelming  forces,  which  now  num- 
bered 20,000.  Gates  —  to  give  him  due  credit  — knew  how 
to  be  active  after  the  victory,  although,  when  fighting  was 
going  on,  he  was  a  general  of  sedentary  habits.  When 
Arnold  rushed  down,  at  the  critical  moment,  to  complete 
the  victory  of  Saratoga,  Gates  sent  out  Major  Armstrong  to 
stop  him.  "Call  back  that  fellow,"  said  Gates,  "or  he  will 
be  doing  something  rash  !  "  But  the  eager  Arnold  had  out- 
galloped the  messenger,  and  came  back  only  when  his  leg 
was  broken  and  the  victory  won.  In  the  mean  time  Gates 
sat  at  his  headquarters,  forgetful  of  the  battle  that  was 
raging  below,  while  he  argued  the  merits  of  the  American 
Revolution   with    a   wounded    British   officer,    Sir    Francis 


777 


SARATOGA 


34i 


Clerke,  who  had  been  brought  in  and  laid  upon  the  com- 
mander's bed  to  die.  Losing  his  temper  in  the  discussion, 
Gates  called  his  adjutant,  Wilkinson,  out  of  the  room,  and 
asked  him,  "  Did  you  ever  hear  so  impudent  a  son  of  a 
b — h  ? "  And  this  seems  to  have  been  all  that  the  com- 
manding general  contributed  to  the  crowning  victory  of 
Saratoga. 

When  Burgoyne  reached  the  place  where  he  had  crossed 
the  Hudson,  he  found  a  force  of  3,000  Americans,  with 


-^r^ 


several  batteries  of  cannon  occupying  the  hills  on  the  other 
side,  so  that  it  was  now  impossible  to  cross.  A  TheBritish 
council  of  war  decided  to  abandon  all  the  artillery  army  is  sur- 
and  baggage,  push  through  the  woods  by  night, 
and  effect  a  crossing  higher  up,  by  Fort  Edward,  where  the 
great  river  begins  to  be  fordable.     But  no  sooner  had  this 


342  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  vn 

plan  been  made  than  word  was  brought  that  the  Americans 
were  guarding  all  the  fords,  and  had  also  planted  detach- 
ments in  a  strong  position  to  the  northward,  between  Fort 
Edward  and  Fort  George.  The  British  army,  in  short,  was 
surrounded.  A  brisk  cannonade  was  opened  upon  it  from 
the  east  and  south,  while  Morgan's  sharpshooters  kept  up  a 
galling  fire  in  the  rear.  Some  of  the  women  and  wounded 
men  were  sent  for  safety  to  a  large  house  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, where  they  took  refuge  in  the  cellar ;  and  there  the 
Baroness  Riedesel  tells  us  how  she  passed  six  dismal  nights 
and  days,  crouching  in  a  corner  near  the  doorway,  with  her 
three  little  children  clinging  about  her,  while  every  now  and 
then,  with  hideous  crashing,  a  heavy  cannon-ball  passed 
through  the  room  overhead.  The  cellar  became  crowded 
with  crippled  and  dying  men.  But  little  food  could  be  ob- 
tained, and  the  suffering  from  thirst  was  dreadful.  It  was 
only  a  few  steps  to  the  river,  but  every  man  who  ventured 
out  with  a  bucket  was  shot  dead  by  Virginia  rifles  that  never 
missed  their  aim.  At  last  the  brave  wife  of  a  British  soldier 
volunteered  to  go ;  and  thus  the  water  was  brought  again 
and  again,  for  the  Americans  would  not  fire  at  a  woman. 

And  now,  while  Burgoyne's  last  ray  of  hope  was  dying, 
and  while  the  veteran  Phillips  declared  himself  heartbroken 
at  the  misery  which  he  could  not  relieve,  where  was  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  ?  He  had  not  thought  it  prudent  to  leave 
Clinton  New  York  until  after  the  arrival  of  3,000  soldiers 
thTHudP  wnom  ne  expected  from  England.  These  men 
son,  but  it  arrived  on  the  29th  of  September,  but  six  days 
more  elapsed  before  Sir  Henry  had  taken  them 
up  the  river  and  landed  them  near  Putnam's  headquarters 
at  Peekskill.  In  a  campaign  of  three  days  he  outwitted 
that  general,  carried  two  of  the  forts  after  obstinate  resist- 
ance, and  compelled  the  Americans  to  abandon  the  others ; 
and  thus  laid  open  the  river  so  that  British  ships  might 
go  up  to  Albany.  On  the  8th  of  October,  Sir  Henry  wrote 
to  Burgoyne  from  Fort  Montgomery:  "  Noils  y  void,  and 
nothing  between  us  and  Gates.     I  sincerely  hope  this  little 


1777  SARATOGA  343 

success  of  ours  will  facilitate  your  operations."  This  dis- 
patch was  written  on  a  scrap  of  very  thin  paper,  and  encased 
in  an  oval  silver  bullet,  which  opened  with  a  tiny  screw  in 
the  middle.  Sir  Henry  then  sent  General  Vaughan,  with 
several  frigates  and  the  greater  part  of  his  force,  to  make 
all  haste  for  Albany.  As  they  passed  up  the  river,  the 
next  day,  they  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  land  and 
set  fire  to  the  pretty  village  of  Kingston,  then  the  seat  of 
the  state  legislature.  George  Clinton,  governor  of  the  state, 
just  retreating  from  his  able  defence  of  the  captured  forts, 
hastened  to  protect  the  village,  but  came  up  only  in  time  to 
see  it  in  flames  from  one  end  to  the  other.  Just  then  Sir 
Henry's  messenger,  as  he  skulked  by  the  roadside,  was 
caught  and  taken  to  the  governor.  He  had  been  seen  swal- 
lowing something,  so  they  gave  him  an  emetic,  and  obtained 
the  silver  bullet.  The  dispatch  was  read ;  the  bearer  was 
hanged  to  an  apple-tree  ;  and  Burgoyne,  weary  with  waiting 
for  the  news  that  never  came,  at  last  sent  a  flag  of  truce  to 
General  Gates,  inquiring  what  terms  of  surrender  would  be 
accepted. 

Gates  first  demanded  an  unconditional  surrender,  but  on 
Burgoyne' s  indignant  refusal  he  consented  to  make  terms, 
and  the  more  readily,  no  doubt,  since  he  knew  „ 
what  had  just  happened  in  the  Highlands,  though  surrenders, 
his  adversary  did  not.  After  three  days  of  discus- 
sion the  terms  of  surrender  were  agreed  upon.  Just  as 
Burgoyne  was  about  to  sign  the  articles,  a  Tory  made  his 
way  into  camp  with  hearsay  news  that  part  of  Clinton's 
army  was  approaching  Albany.  The  subject  was  then 
anxiously  reconsidered  by  the  British  officers,  and  an  inter- 
esting discussion  ensued  as  to  whether  they  had  so  far 
pledged  their  faith  to  the  surrender  that  they  could  not  in 
honour  draw  back.  The  majority  of  the  council  decided 
that  their  faith  was  irrevocably  pledged,  and  Burgoyne 
yielded  to  this  opinion,  though  he  did  not  share  it,  for  he 
did  not  feel  quite  clear  that  the  rumoured  advance  of  Clinton 
could  now  avail  to  save  him  in  any  case.     In  this  he  was 


344  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  vn 

undoubtedly  right.  The  American  army,  with  its  daily 
accretions  of  militia,  had  now  grown  to  more  than  20,000, 
and  armed  yeomanry  were  still  pouring  in  by  the  hundred. 
A  diversion  threatened  by  less  than  3,000  men,  who  were 
still  more  than  fifty  miles  distant,  could  hardly  have  averted 
the  doom  of  the  British  army.  The  only  effect  which  it 
did  produce  was,  perhaps,  to  work  upon  the  timid  Gates, 
and  induce  him  to  offer  easy  terms  in  order  to  hasten  the 
surrender.  On  the  17th  of  October,  accordingly,  the  arti- 
cles were  signed,  exchanged,  and  put  in  execution.  It  was 
agreed  that  the  British  army  should  march  out  of  camp  with 
the  honours  of  war,  and  pile  their  arms  at  an  appointed 
place ;  they  should  then  march  through  Massachusetts  to 
Boston,  from  which  port  they  might  sail  for  Europe,  it 
being  understood  that  none  of  them  should  serve  again  in 
America  during  the  war ;  all  the  officers  might  retain  their 
small  arms,  and  no  one's  private  luggage  should  be  searched 
or  molested.  At  Burgoyne's  earnest  solicitation  the  Amer- 
ican general  consented  that  these  proceedings  should  be 
styled  a  "  convention,"  instead  of  a  surrender,  in  imitation 
of  the  famous  Convention  of  Kloster-Seven,  by  which  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland,  twenty  years  before,  had  sought  to 
save  his  feelings  while  losing  his  army,  beleaguered  by  the 
French  in  Hanover.  The  soothing  phrase  has  been  well 
remembered  by  British  historians,  who  to  this  day  continue 
to  speak  of  Burgoyne's  surrender  as  the  "Convention  of 
Saratoga." 

In  carrying  out  the  terms  of  the  convention,  both  Gates 
and  his  soldiers  showed  praiseworthy  delicacy.  As  the 
British  marched  off  to  a  meadow  by  the  river  side  and  laid 
down  their  arms,  the  Americans  remained  within  their  lines, 
refusing  to  add  to  the  humiliation  of  a  gallant  enemy  by 
standing  and  looking  on.  As  the  disarmed  soldiers  then 
passed  by  the  American  lines,  says  Lieutenant  Anbury,  one 
of  the  captured  officers,  "  I  did  not  observe  the  least  disre- 
spect or  even  a  taunting  look,  but  all  was  mute  astonishment 
and  pity."     Burgoyne  stepped  up  and  handed  his  sword  to 


SURRENDER  OF  BURGOYNE  AT  SARATOGA 
October  17,  1777 


1777  SARATOGA  345 

Gates,  simply  saying,  "  The  fortune  of  war,  General  Gates, 
has  made  me  your  prisoner."  The  American  general  in- 
stantly returned  the  sword,  replying,  "I  shall  always  be 
ready  to  testify  that  it  has  not  been  through  any  fault  of 
your  excellency."  When  Baron  Riedesel  had  been  presented 
to  Gates  and  the  other  generals,  he  sent  for  his  wife  and 
children.  Set  free  at  last  from  the  dreadful  cellar,  the 
baroness  came  with  some  trepidation  into  the  enemy's  camp  ; 
but  the  only  look  she  saw  upon  any  face  was  one  of  sym- 
pathy. "As  I  approached  the  tents,"  she  says,  "a  noble- 
looking  gentleman  came  toward  me,  and  took  the  children 
out  of  the  wagon  ;  embraced  and  kissed  them ;  and  then, 
with  tears  in  his  eyes,  helped  me  also  to  alight.  .  .  .  Pres- 
ently he  said,  '  It  may  be  embarrassing  to  you  to  dine  with 
so  many  gentlemen.  If  you  will  come  with  your  children 
to  my  tent,  I  will  give  you  a  frugal  meal,  but  one  that  will 
at  least  be  seasoned  with  good  wishes.'  'Oh,  sir,'  I  cried, 
1  you  must  surely  be  a  husband  and  a  father,  since  you  show 
me  so  much  kindness ! '  I  then  learned  that  it  was  General 
Schuyler." 

Schuyler  had  indeed  come,  with  unruffled  soul,  to  look  on 
while  the  fruit  which  he  had  sown,  with  the  gallant  aid  of 
Stark  and  Herkimer,  Arnold  and  Morgan,  was  plucked  by 
an  unworthy  rival.  He  now  met  Burgoyne,  who  was  nat- 
urally pained  and  embarrassed  at  the  recollection  of  the 
beautiful  house  which  his  men  had  burned  a  few  days  be- 
fore. In  a  speech  in  the  House  of  Commons,  some  months 
later,  Burgoyne  told  how  Schuyler  received  him.  , 

"I  expressed  to  General  Schuyler,"  says  Burgoyne,  magnanim- 
"  my  regret  at  the  event  which  had  happened,  and  *  y 
the  reasons  which  had  occasioned  it.  He  desired  me  to 
think  no  more  of  it,  saying  that  the  occasion  justified  it, 
according  to  the  rules  of  war.  ...  He  did  more :  he  sent 
an  aide-de-camp  to  conduct  me  to  Albany,  in  order,  as  he 
expressed  it,  to  procure  me  better  quarters  than  a  stranger 
might  be  able  to  find.  This  gentleman  conducted  me  to  a 
very  elegant  house,  and,  to  my  great  surprise,  presented  me 


346  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION  chap,  vii 

to  Mrs.  Schuyler  and  her  family  ;  and  in  this  general's  house 
I  remained  during  my  whole  stay  at  Albany,  with  a  table  of 
more  than  twenty  covers  for  me  and  my  friends,  and  every 
other  possible  demonstration  of  hospitality."  Madame 
Riedesel  was  also  invited  to  stay  with  the  Schuylers ;  and 
when  first  she  arrived  in  the  house,  one  of  her  little  girls 
exclaimed,  "  Oh,  mamma !  Is  this  the  palace  that  papa  was 
to  have  when  he  came  to  America  ? "  As  the  Schuylers 
understood  German,  the  baroness  coloured,  but  all  laughed 
pleasantly,  and  put  her  at  ease. 

With  the  generosity  and  delicacy  shown  alike  by  generals 
and  soldiers,  it  is  painful,  though  instructive,  to  contrast 
the  coarseness  and  bad  faith  with  which  Congress  pro- 
ceeded to  treat  the  captured  army.  The  presence  of  the 
troops  in  and  about  Boston  was  felt  to  be  a  hardship,  and 
Bad  faith  of  General  Heath,  who  commanded  there,  wrote  to 
Congress  Washington,  saying  that  if  they  were  to  stay  till 
cold  weather  he  hardly  knew  how  to  find  shelter  and  fuel 
for  them.  Washington  replied  that  they  would  not  be  likely 
to  stay  long,  since  it  was  clearly  for  Howe's  interest  to  send 
them  back  to  England  as  soon  as  possible,  in  order  that  they 
might  replace  other  soldiers  who  would  be  sent  over  to 
America  for  the  spring  campaign.  Congress  caught  up  this 
suggestion  with  avidity,  and  put  it  to  uses  quite  remote  from 
Washington's  meaning.  When  Sir  William  Howe  proposed 
Newport  as  a  point  from  which  the  soldiers  might  more 
speedily  be  shipped,  Washington,  for  sound  and  obvious  rea- 
sons, urged  that  there  should  be  no  departure  from  the  strict 
letter  of  the  convention.  Congress  forthwith  not  only  acted 
upon  this  suggestion  so  far  as  to  refuse  Sir  William  Howe's 
request,  but  it  went  on  gratuitously  and  absurdly  to  charge 
the  British  general  with  bad  faith.  It  was  hinted  that  he 
secretly  intended  to  bring  the  troops  to  New  York  for  imme- 
diate service,  in  defiance  of  the  convention,  and  Congress 
proceeded  to  make  this  imputed  treachery  the  ground  for 
really  false  dealing  on  its  own  part.     When  Lord  Howe's 


1777  SARATOGA  347 

transports  reached  Boston,  it  was  not  only  ordered  that  no 
troops  should  be  allowed  to  embark  until  all  the  accounts 
for  their  subsistence  should  have  been  settled,  but  it  was 
also  required  that  these  accounts  should  be  liquidated  in 
gold.  In  the  instructions  given  to  General  Washington  a 
year  before,  a  refusal  on  the  part  of  anybody  to  receive  the 
Continental  paper  money  was  to  be  treated  as  a  high  misde- 
meanour. Now  Congress  refused  to  take  its  own  money, 
which  had  depreciated  till  it  was  worth  barely  thirty  cents 
on  a  dollar.  The  captured  army  was  supplied  with  provi- 
sions and  fuel  that  were  paid  for  by  General  Heath  with 
Continental  paper,  and  now  Congress  insisted  that  General 
Burgoyne  should  make  his  repayment  dollar  for  dollar  in 
British  gold,  worth  three  times  as  much.  In  fairness  to  the 
delegates,  we  may  admit  that  in  all  probability  they  did  not 
realize  the  baseness  of  this  conduct.  They  were  no  doubt 
misled  by  one  of  those  wonderful  bits  of  financial  sophistry 
by  which  the  enacting  mind  of  our  countrymen  has  so  often 
been  hopelessly  confused.  In  an  amusing  letter  to  Wash- 
ington, honest  General 
Heath   naively   exclaims, 

"What   an  opinion  must  Sssrfr  V  f 

General  Burgoyne  have 
of  the  authority  of  these 
states,  to  suppose  that  his  money  would  be  received  at  any 
higher  rate  than  our  own  in  public  payment !  Such  pay- 
ment would  at  once  be  depreciating  our  currency  with  a 
witness."  Washington  was  seriously  annoyed  and  mortified 
by  these  vagaries,  —  the  more  so  that  he  was  at  this  very 
time  endeavouring  to  arrange  with  Howe  a  general  cartel  for 
the  exchange  of  prisoners ;  and  he  knew  that  the  attempt  to 
make  thirty  cents  equal  to  a  dollar  would,  as  he  said,  "  de- 
stroy the  very  idea  of  a  cartel." 

While  these  discussions  were  going  on,  Congress,  like  the 
wicked  king  in  the  fairy  tale,  anxious  to  impose  conditions 
unlikely  to  be  fulfilled,  demanded  that  General  Burgoyne 
should  make  out  a  descriptive  list   of  all  the  officers  and 


348  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vn 

soldiers  in  his  army,  in  order  that  if  any  of  them  should 
thereafter  be  found  serving  against  the  United  States  they 
might  be  punished  accordingly.  As  no  such  provision  was 
contained  in  the  convention,  upon  the  faith  of  which  Bur- 
goyne  had  surrendered,  he  naturally  regarded  the  demand 
as  insulting,  and  at  first  refused  to  comply  with  it.  He 
afterwards  yielded  the  point,  in  his  eagerness  to  liberate  his 
soldiers  ;  but  meanwhile,  in  a  letter  to  Gates,  he  had  incau- 
tiously let  fall  the  expression,  "  The  publick  faith  is  broke 
[sic] ; "  and  this  remark,  coming  to  the  ears  of  Congress, 
was  immediately  laid  hold  of  as  a  pretext  for  repudiating 
the  convention  altogether.  It  was  argued  that  Burgoyne 
had  charged  the  United  States  with  bad  faith,  in  order  to 
have  an  excuse  for  repudiating  the  convention  on  his  own 
part ;  and  on  the  8th  of  January,  Congress  accordingly 
resolved,  "  that  the  embarkation  of  Lieutenant-General  Bur- 
goyne and  the  troops  under  his  command  be  suspended  till 
a  distinct  and  explicit  ratification  of  the  Convention  of  Sara- 
toga shall  be  properly  notified  by  the  court  of  Great  Britain 
to  Congress."  Now  as  the  British  government  could  not 
give  the  required  ratification  without  implicitly  recognizing 
the  independence  of  the  United  States,  no  further  steps 
were  taken  in  the  matter,  the  "publick  faith"  was  really 
broken,  and  the  captured  army  was  never  sent  home. 

In  this  wretched  affair,  Congress  deliberately  sacrificed 
principle  to  policy.  It  refused,  on  paltry  pretexts,  to  carry 
out  a  solemn  engagement  which  had  been  made  by  its  ac- 
credited agent ;  and  it  did  so  simply  through  the  fear  that 
the  British  army  might  indirectly  gain  a  possible  reinforce- 
Thebehav-  ment.  Its  conduct  can  be  justified  upon  no  grounds 
four  of  save  sucn  as  would  equally  justify  firing  upon  flags 

was  simply   of  truce.     Nor  can  it  be  palliated  even  upon  the 

inGXCU.s3.blG 

lowest  grounds  of  expediency,  for,  as  it  has  been 
well  said,  "to  a  people  struggling  for  political  life  the  moral 
support  derivable  from  the  maintenance  of  honour  and  good 
faith  was  worth  a  dozen  material  victories."  This  sacrifice 
of  principle  to  policy  has  served  only  to  call  down  the  con- 


350  THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  chap,  vn 

demnation  of  impartial  historians,  and  to  dim  the  lustre  of 
the  magnificent  victory  which  the  valour  of  our  soldiers  and 
the  self-devotion  of  our  people  had  won  in  the  field.  It  was 
one  out  of  many  instances  which  show  that,  under  any  form 
of  government,  the  moral  sense  of  the  governing  body  is 
likely  to  fall  far  below  the  highest  moral  standard  recog- 
nized in  the  community. 

The  captured  army  was  never  sent  home.  The  officers 
were  treated  as  prisoners  of  war,  and  from  time  to  time 
what  be-  were  exchanged.  Burgoyne  was  allowed  to  go  to 
Sptur°edthe  England  in  the  spring,  and  while  still  a  prisoner  on 
army  parole  he  took  his  seat  in  Parliament,  and  became 

conspicuous  among  the  defenders  of  the  American  cause. 
The  troops  were  detained  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Boston 
until  the  autumn  of  1778,  when  they  were  all  transferred  to 
Charlottesville  in  Virginia.  Here  a  rude  village  was  built 
on  the  brow  of  a  pleasant  ridge  of  hills,  and  gardens  were 
laid  out  and  planted.  Much  kind  assistance  was  rendered 
in  all  this  work  by  Thomas  Jefferson,  who  was  then  living 
close  by,  on  his  estate  at  Monticello,  and  did  everything  in 
his  power  to  make  things  comfortable  for  soldiers  and 
officers.  Two  years  afterward,  when  Virginia  became  the 
seat  of  war,  some  of  them  were  removed  to  Winchester  in 
the  Shenandoah  valley,  to  Frederick  in  Maryland,  and  to 
Lancaster  in  Pennsylvania.  Those  who  wished  to  return  to 
Europe  were  exchanged  or  allowed  to  escape.  The  greater 
number,  especially  of  the  Germans,  preferred  to  stay  in  this 
country  and  become  American  citizens.  Before  the  end  of 
1783  they  had  dispersed  in  all  directions. 

Such  was  the  strange  sequel  of  a  campaign  which,  whether 
we  consider  the  picturesqueness  of  its  incidents  or  the  mag- 
nitude of  its  results,  was  one  of  the  most  memorable  in  the 
history  of  mankind.  Its  varied  scenes,  framed  in  land- 
scapes of  grand  and  stirring  beauty,  had  brought  together 
such  types  of  manhood  as  the  feathered  Mohawk  sachem, 
the  helmeted  Brunswick  dragoon,  and  the  blue-frocked  yeo- 
man of  New  England,  —  types  of  ancient  barbarism,  of  the 


1777  SARATOGA  351 

militancy  bequeathed  from  the  Middle  Ages,  and  of  the 
industrial  democracy  that  is  to  possess  and  control  the  future 
of  the  world.  These  men  had  mingled  in  a  deadly  struggle 
for  the  strategic  centre  of  the  Atlantic  coast  of  North 
America,  and  now  the  fight  had  ended  in  the  complete  and 
overwhelming  defeat  of  the  forces  of  George  III.  Four 
years,  indeed,  —  four  years  of  sore  distress  and  hope  de- 
ferred, —  were  yet  to  pass  before  the  fruits  of  this  great 
victory  could  be  gathered.  The  independence  of  the  United 
States  was  not  yet  won  ;  but  the  triumph  at  Saratoga  set 
in  motion  a  train  of  events  from  which  the  winning  of  inde- 
pendence was  destined  surely  to  follow. 


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